Selesta Snape
by Lavenrith
Summary: Albus befriends a young girl named Selesta who turns out to be Snape's granddaughter! Snape had a LOVER? o.0 LOL. Also includes Rose, Lily, James Sirius, Scorpius, etc.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - Selesta**

"Please Professor McGonagall, let my granddaughter into Hogwarts," a frail, dark-haired, old lady begged. "She is exceptionally talented, especially in Potions. I have taught her everything I know, but I am afraid she is missing out on her childhood. I know that Hogwarts is a great school and I would like her to be a part of it."

"I don't know about this," McGonagall sighed. "How old is she?"

"She is almost sixteen."

"That would make her a fifth year!" McGonagall exclaimed. "Usually fifth years are settled in by then and already know which house they belong to. Well, then there is only one way this can be handled. She shall be sorted along with the first years."

"Thank you Minerva! I am happy as long as she is gets into Hogwarts." The old lady said gratefully.

"At least you told me about this before school started, Saveria." McGonagall mumbled.

The next morning, Saveria was awoken by a joyful squeal in the living room. Her granddaughter was jumping up and down as she held an envelope in her hands. "Gran, it's finally here! I got accepted to Hogwarts." The girl hollered from the top of her lungs.

"That's great dear!" Saveria tried to act surprised. "You better start packing so that we can go buy some of the things you need. Maybe even a brand new owl or broom."

Her granddaughter quickly jumped up and kissed her on the cheek. "You're the best!"

* * *

><p><strong>Meanwhile on the Hogwarts Express . . . <strong>

"Ready for your fifth year, my brother?" James Sirius Potter wrapped his arm around Albus Severus. He wondered why James was being so nice to him and decided to just ignore him.

"You know it's about time you started mingling with the ladies," said James. "I mean look at me. Woman cannot seem to keep their hands off of me; even after I have told them numerous times that I am happily dating Delilah Longbottom. But I really don't mind, I mean… I'm gorgeous! I can't help if I inherited such good genes."

"You do know Delilah is standing by the door," sighed Lily. Delilah cleared her throat and walked away with her arms crossed.

"Uh, Delilah honey … sweetums! I didn't mean anything I said in there!" James chased after her. Lily and Albus couldn't help but bark into laughter.

"Lily, I'm a bit nervous about the O.W.L.s this year," said Albus quietly as he watched the gloomy, grey sky through the window of the Hogwarts Express.

"Don't worry, you'll do fine!" Lily assured him. "I mean if James passed, then so can you."

"Hello, everyone!" A girl with fiery red hair beamed.

"Rose! Where have you been? I was wondering where you were," Lily said. "Have you seen Hugo?"

"I was just telling Hugo off for running around the train with his friends." Rose sat down next to Lily. "Oh, I cannot believe I'm a prefect! I'm just starting to get the hang of it. Mum and dad used to be prefects too during their fifth year. They were so proud when they saw my badge."

"Weasley," Scorpius smirked as he walked passed their compartment. Rose stuck her tongue out at him. "A prefect. Why am I not surprised?"

"Gosh, I cannot stand him!" Rose glared. "He's so obnoxious."

"Just ignore him," said Albus. "He doesn't matter. He's probably just jealous because you always get the top marks in every class."

"Don't worry Rose," smiled Lily. "We're here for you."

During the train ride, Albus took a short nap while Lily and Rose pigged out on some chocolate frogs. Hugo came and joined them for a while, since they had food but hurriedly scurried off with his friend Alice Longbottom. When the train finally stopped, Albus was still fast asleep. It took numerous attempts to wake him up, until Rose accidently dropped her _Book of Monsters_ which painfully bit Albus's left foot. He yelped in pain as Rose and Lily hoisted him up and helped him get off the train.

When Albus, Rose and Lily finally arrived at the Great Hall, they were a little late for everyone else was already seated in their house tables. Rose was never late for anything, but she ignored it for it was partially her fault that Albus had gotten a foot injury. Luckily, they made it just in time right before the sorting started. Albus hopped off to the Slytherin table with his uninjured right foot, while Rose and Lily scampered off to their fellow Gryffindors. He sat down next to Scorpius who he wasn't very fond of, but had no choice for it hurt too much to walk to the other end of the table.

"Come now children, hurry along." Trelawney said in her dreamy voice.

Albus watched as Professor Trelawney led the first years into the very front of the Great Hall. He smiled as he looked at all the new faces. They all looked quite frightened and he instantly remembered his very first day at Hogwarts. He used to be so scared that he would get into Slytherin, but now that he had been in that house for almost 5 years now, he really didn't mind at all. Although, he hadn't made any friends with any of the students of Slytherin, he did make friends with the people of Gryffindor.

When Albus finally got his mind set into the present, he realized the Sorting Hat was already finished singing its song. He watched as Professor Trelawney unrolled a long piece of parchment that blew some dust into her face. She started coughing uncontrollably as she patted her chest. Albus couldn't help but gaze elsewhere and noticed a raven-haired girl with a worried look on her face. She was the tallest out of all the first years and probably stood out the most. She looked longingly at the Slytherin table and even caught Albus's eye for a moment. She quickly turned away and looked down at her shoes.

"Oi, did you see that first year over there?" Scorpius whispered to his pals Milo and Cunis. "She's like 2 heads taller than everyone else."

"Probably part giant," Milo snickered. Albus glared at them. It was the first years first day and Malfoy and his goons were already making fun of people. Hogwarts was supposed to be a place where you felt safe and comfortable in. Almost like a second home.

When Trelawney finally gave out her last cough, she read the first name on the scroll. "Chang, Chai."

A short boy with round spectacles sat on the old wooden stool as Trelawney set the ancient Sorting Hat on the top of his head. It took only a few seconds until the Hat spit out, "Ravenclaw!" The boy quickly skipped to his table as all the Ravenclaw students cheered.

"C-C-Cre… ACHOO!" Trelawney sneezed. "Creevey, Cayla"

A blonde young girl stepped up and the Sorting Hat announced, "Gryffindor!" The Gryffindor's blared as they welcomed her into their house.

"Ellesmere, Delena." Trelawney called. The brunette girl was quickly assigned to the Hufflepuff table as they cheered and welcomed her.

Time passed and Trelawney was finally down to the letter **S**. This time with a box of floating tissues next to her, she announced, "S-Snape, Selesta."

Everyone swiftly directed their attention onto the girl when they heard the name _Snape, _including Albus. He realized it was the raven-haired girl he saw earlier. She was shaking as she sat onto the stool and was biting her lip like a nervous wreck. Trelawney gently laid the Sorting Hat onto her head. "Slytherin!" the Hat bellowed. Her worried face quickly vanished and was replaced with a smile as she excitedly ran off to the Slytherin table. The Slytherin's cheered and she found a seat across from Albus.

When Zelda Zamboni was the last name to be called and was finally seated into Ravenclaw, Professor McGonagall stood up from her seat and smiled at all the students. "Now that we are all settled in, let the feast begin!"

Mountains and mountains of food appeared in a blink of an eye on every table. Albus felt his stomach grumble and knew he was extremely hungry. He hadn't eaten anything ever since the train ride to Hogwarts. He aimlessly reached out for a fried drumstick when he noticed something was pulling on the other end. It was another hand which belonged to the raven-haired girl. She quickly let go, "Sorry, you can have it."

"Uh, no don't apologize." Albus smiled. "I should be the one who's sorry. I didn't realize you wanted this one too. Here, it's only right. You should take it as remembrance of a very fine meal on your very first day at Hogwarts." He handed her the chicken. "I'm Albus by the way."

"Selesta," she laughed as she held onto the other end and shook it, sort of like a handshake. A very strange handshake which made Albus laugh as well.

"Well, lookie here. Potter's already made friends with a giantess," Malfoy sniggered. Milo and Cunis joined in as well.

"Shut up, Malfoy." Albus stared angrily into his face. "That's no way to treat a first year."

"Oooh, defending your new girlfriend, I see." Malfoy teased.

"Not like you'll ever make one with that attitude." Albus snapped back. Scorpius turned his head dramatically and pretended he hadn't heard anything. He ignored Albus during the rest of the feast and busied himself by joking around with Milo and Cunis. Albus noticed that from time to time, Scorpius would look up at the Gryffindor table looking awe-struck. Albus tried to follow the direction he was staring at and surprisingly, it was at Rose Weasley. He shivered at the thought of Scorpius actually liking one of his best friends and not to mention his own cousin. He had and instant vision of Scorpius being part of his family and hoped it wasn't so.

"Thanks for defending me," said Selesta.

"It's no biggie," said Albus. "Nobody deserves to be treated like that." He noticed she was studying his face and he couldn't help but gaze deeply into her dark violet eyes.

"Your eyes are a lovely shade of green." She whispered. "My favourite colour."

"Um, thanks." Albus blushed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - Never On Time**

_ Beep! Beep! Beep! _Albus's alarm clock spluttered as the annoying sound rang in his ears. He sat up and rubbed his tired eyes. He noticed everything was strangely silent and decided to look around the boys' dormitory. Not a single person was in that room except for him. Albus realized he was late! Everyone must have left for class without him … again. He quickly put on his robes and dug through a pile of garbage on his bedside table. When he found his schedule he grabbed his things and ran for class without even bothering to make his bed.

"You're late Mr. Potter," Professor Slughorn said as he put a green gooey substance into his cauldron. He didn't seem mad or surprised at all. He yawned as if he was bored, "Seems as if last year is repeating itself."

"I know Professor," said Albus. "I'm so sorry, I woke up late. I-I-I promise it won't happen again."

"Just take your seat, child." Slughorn motioned him to sit down. "Try to stay focused and follow along with the lesson. I'm sure you'll catch on just fine."

Albus looked around for an empty seat. There was one next to smelly Stevenson Somers. He smelled like dirty socks rolled in rotten eggs. Nope. Albus was definitely not sitting there. There one next to Scorpius Malfoy. Albus really wasn't really looking forward to hear more of Malfoy's insults on other students. His eyes shifted onto a girl with jet black hair, brewing a bubbling potion happily. It was Selesta and luckily, there was an empty seat next to her. Albus finally found a seat.

"Hey, I thought you're a first year," Albus whispered. "Why are you in this class?"

Selesta giggled, "Nope silly. I'm a fifth year too!"

"Oh," Albus was a bit confused, but a realization hit him. "No wonder you were so tall compared to the other kids!"

"Psst, Mr. Potter! Enough chit chat, I told you to stay focused," said Slughorn.

"Sorry!" Albus said, but continued whispering with Selesta. "So, what are we making today?"

"The Draught of Peace potion," she replied. "It's supposed to relieve anxiety and agitation."

Albus watched and tried to mimic Selesta as she carefully put in some Valerian root, powdered moonstone, porcupine quills and a bit of unicorn horn into her cauldron. She then stirred it several times, both clockwise and counter-clockwise. After that, she lowered the temperature of the flames and let the potion simmer for a while. Selesta decided to look over at how Albus was doing.

"No, no, no. Albus, don't dump in all that powdered unicorn horn." Selesta took hold of the container in Albus's hand and only put in half of what it contained into his cauldron. He nodded his head and continued on to put in the hellebore syrup. "You're supposed to put that in last," Selesta coughed. "After you've stirred and let the potion simmer for several minutes." She realized it was time for her to pour in the syrup into her potion.

Professor Slughorn walked up to Selesta's cauldron. "Excellent. You've done it correctly Selesta. It's emitting a silvery vapour and look, it's turning turquoise blue! Well done. Just put it inside a small vial and leave it on my desk." He then turned to look into Albus's cauldron. It was greenish brown and smelled strangely like feet. Slughorn plugged his nose once he got a whiff. "Albus, I'm afraid you have done it incorrectly. Maybe you put in too much powdered moonstone. That explains why it's glowing. Make sure you don't let anyone drink that. It might put someone to an irreversible sleep."

Albus felt his face heat up in embarrassment. He wasn't the greatest at Potions. He could hear stifled laughter somewhere in the corner of the room. It was Scorpius and his crew. Albus rolled his eyes. He was tempted to kick the potion up Scorpius's throat and put him into a deep sleep. That way, he would never have to hear his annoying voice ever again. At least he knew someone that could possibly help him improve in Potions. Selesta.

When Albus was on his way to Defense Against the Dark Arts class, he noticed the sound of footsteps quickly following behind him. He turned and saw it was Selesta. She was blindly staring at a piece of parchment, which was supposedly her schedule, and she bumped right into Albus.

"Sorry!" she jumped.

"It's okay," Albus replied. "Looking for your next class?"

"Yup. I have … hm, let's see." Selesta lightly tapped her chin with her fingers. "Defense Against the Dark Arts with …"

"Professor Conan Laphrindle."

"Yeah! How did you …"

"I have him or her too," said Albus. "I don't know if our new Professor is male or female. I heard they just came this year."

As they walked together to class, Albus learned that he had almost all of his classes with Selesta. Except for one class, which was Advanced Arithmacy Studies, and he only took it because Rose begged him. They finally reached the classroom when Albus caught a glimpse of Rose in the corner, with a flying notepad and quill by her side. She was probably planning on writing everything their Professor said, word for word, like she did with all her classes.

"Rose!" said Albus.

"Hey Albus," Rose waved. "Everyone just introduced themselves to Professor Laphrindle. Don't worry I mentioned you, and how you're always late."

Albus nodded and then realized Selesta was by his side. "Oh! Um… this is…"

"Selesta Snape," said Rose. "I know. I saw her at the sorting. You know I have a good memory! Hello, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Selesta smiled.

They then heard someone clear their throat as if telling the whole class to listen up. "Attention! Attention everyone! Look here! Thank you," said a lean, dark-haired man with a goatee. "I am Professor Laphrindle, and today we will be practicing our Patronuses."

"I already know how to do that!" scoffed a voice behind Albus. It was Scorpius Malfoy. "I learned it last year from my father."

"Alright Mr. Malfoy, show us then how it is done," said Professor Laphrindle.

Malfoy walked towards the front of the room, knocking Rose's shoulder with his. She glared in disgust. As he stood in the front, he held up his wand confidently. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A silver swan sprang out of his wand and quickly disappeared.

"A swan? That's kind of a girly Patronus." The quietest boy in the class spoke. His name was Ralph Thomas and up until now, Albus had never heard him utter a word. There was some muffled laughter in the room and Malfoy's face grew bright red as he angrily said, "Shut up! Shut up!"

"Not bad Mr. Malfoy," said Professor Laphrindle. "But think harder about that happy thought. Okay, everyone grab a partner and create two lines. You may begin practicing."

Rose took hold of Albus's arm. They were always together during partner situations. Albus looked over at Selesta and saw her biting her lip nervously. Everyone else was already paired up, except for her. "Professor! Do you mind if we have a group of 3? Selesta doesn't have a partner," said Albus.

"That is very considerate of you Albus, but how about I partner up with Selesta?" said the Professor.

"If that's okay with her …" Albus looked at Selesta. She nodded timidly.

**~.~.~.~.~**

"E-E-EXPECTO … Patronum!" Rose said weakly. A ghost-like duck seeped out of her wand and vanished in a blink of an eye. "Oh, fiddlesticks!"

"Say it clearly Rose," said Albus. "And think hard of the happiest moment in your life."

Rose closed her eyes, "The day I become a Prefect … when I found out I got the highest mark in all of my classes … well, except for Divination." She muttered miserably. "Oh! When mum told me I was going to have a little brother." Her eyes fluttered open, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A clearer vision of the silver duck appeared. This time it stayed for more than 10 seconds.

"Nice!" Albus exclaimed. "I guess it's my turn … EXPECTO PATRONUUM!" Albus thought of the time Slytherin won the Quidditch cup last year … when he found out he would become one of the Beaters, (but unfortunately he was alongside Scorpius who was the other Beater) … he also thought of the time when his father told him stories of his adventures at Hogwarts by the fireplace … when Albus hid all of James's hair products ... he freaked out like it was the end of the world. Albus couldn't help but smile, as a silver mist came out of his wand which shifted into a beaver.

"Good job!" said Rose.

Just then, a booming voice screamed, "EXPECTOOOO PATROOOOOOOONUUUUUUUUUM!" A white, misty, translucent light covered the entire room as a silver snake was released from Selesta's wand. Everyone fell silent and looked in her direction.

"Wonderful!" said Professor Laphrindle. "Really powerful indeed. Someone has some really happy memories."

Selesta smiled sheepishly, "I was just thinking of the time I received the acceptance letter from Hogwarts."

"Wow, she's good," whispered Rose. "Did you see how her Patronus filled the entire room? Now I really need to practice!"

"Looks like you've finally got some competition, Weasley!" said Malfoy.

"Go away Malfoy, you were never a worthy competitor," she rolled her eyes. Surprisingly, Malfoy wasn't actually that dim-witted. All these years he has actually been one of the brightest in every class, but of course he was always outshone by Rose. He was only second best compared to her. Albus assumed that was why he always picked on her. He was just jealous.

**~.~.~.~.~**

During lunch, Albus went outside and joined Rose along with Lily and their other Gryffindor friends. They all sat on the grass and drank from cold, glass bottles filled with pumpkin juice.

"So this Selesta girl," said Rose quietly. "What do you know about her?"

"I don't know … well she seems quite nice and helpful. She's really good in Potions, and as you saw in Defense too." Albus didn't really feel too comfortable talking about Selesta behind her back.

"Do you think she's really related to Snape?" Rose said curiously. "As in Severus Snape, the man that…"

"I know who he is Rose," Albus replied. "Well, I've heard about him from my father many times. I was named after him after all. He's the man that never stopped loving my grandmother. But I'm not sure if they are related. I never really asked her."

"Okay, just wondering." Rose takes a sip of her pumpkin juice. "Can you though? You're both in Slytherin, you see each other a lot. Maybe she's his niece or something … I'm just so curious. She does kind of resemble him; I mean I've seen pictures. He has really dark hair, and always wears black … but I've never seen one of him smiling. Selesta seems like a happy person though …"

"Alright, alright Rose." Albus put his juice down. "If you'll stop babbling, I'll ask her."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – Like It's Quidditch**

Albus lazily walked up to a portrait of a man that resembled a plump, blushing Santa Claus. "Password?" It asked in deep voice. "Mumbling Mole rats," Albus muttered. The door which led to the common room squeaked as it opened. Albus set his things on a desk and sat down sleepily. He didn't feel like writing the essay that was due tomorrow for History of Magic, nor did he feel like reading about his natal chart for Divination. _It's all a bunch of rubbish._ He thought to himself. It was his first day back at Hogwarts, and already he was overwhelmed with homework. His shoulders drooped as he laid his head on the desk. He closed his eyes and imagined himself swimming peacefully on a vast ocean. The sun was up in the clouds, shining brightly against the blue sky. There was nobody with him. He was alone, but he didn't mind. At least this place was nice and quiet, where no one could bother him. Albus didn't realize he had fallen asleep and ended up on the floor somehow, until a poke on his side made him jump.

"Sorry!" It was Selesta. "For a moment I thought you were dead."

"What, Is it like the third time you've apologized to me? You really didn't do anything wrong," said Albus. "I'm actually quite grateful you woke me up. I have a pile of homework I really need to get done."

"I can't help it; Gran raised me to be a polite young lady." Selesta smiled as she helped Albus get up on his feet. "And tell me about the homework! When Gran was my teacher, she didn't pile all these heavy textbooks on me. But you know what, it's all worth it. As long as I'm at Hogwarts, I'm happy."

"Hogwarts really is important to you, isn't it?" said Albus.

"Yes. My grandmother and I had to move here from all the way in Greece. My grandfather used to go to Hogwarts and I heard it that it was an amazing place. I had to _beg_ Gran! At first, she refused and told me she was doing just fine teaching me on her own. But she finally gave in when she realized I wasn't making any friends, and that she was growing older. She could also see how it would mean the world to me if I had the chance to go here."

"What did your parents say about all of this?" asked Albus.

"Oh, my parents passed away when I was quite young." Selesta stared at her shoes. "And I've been living with Gran ever since."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. It wasn't your fault." Selesta fumbled with her fingers. "My father was a Muggle and he liked traveling by car. He wasn't used to my mother apparating or even when she used her broom. One night, during the winter time, they decided to go buy some groceries. It was snowing hard and they took the old station wagon. It was an accident. The roads were quite slippery; a huge truck had skidded and crashed right into them as they were driving along a bridge. Their car had fallen from the bridge and plunged into an icy body of water. My father drowned, while my mother survived. She came back to Gran and me that night, but she didn't seem like her old self. Gran mentioned how unhappy she was and how she couldn't accept that my father was dead. A few weeks later she used the killing curse upon herself." A tear slithered down Selesta's cheek as she quickly wiped it away. Albus felt terrible for letting her relive through her most painful memories. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her and patted her back. She kept saying she was okay, but clearly her face said otherwise. Albus didn't let go until all her tears dried out.

For the rest of the night, Albus and Selesta sat side by side, and did their homework silently. Albus did not complain of how pointless the work for Divination class was. He just did it. He wrote the essay for History of Magic and didn't stop, even when his hand started to hurt. He just did it. Albus even read a 300 paged book on Fanged Geranium for Herbology, and slapped himself a few times to stay awake. He didn't care how long it would take. He just did it. After hearing about what Selesta went through, he knew he had no right to complain about his life. So he had homework, big whoop! Selesta lost her parents whom she'll never get to know or even have a close relationship with. Albus has both of his parents and has an extremely tight bond with his father and mother. He didn't know that someone like Selesta could have such sad memories. She seemed like the happiest girl on the outside, with her bright smile and how she laughed. But he admired how she managed to still be happy, even when she has lost so much.

The next morning during History of Magic, Rose tapped Albus on the shoulder while Selesta went to use the washroom. "So, did you ask her?" she whispered.

"No," said Albus.

"What? Why not?"

"I had homework." Albus simply replied. He didn't feel like it was right telling anyone about Selesta's past. It was a private matter and when she felt like letting people know, then it was her decision. "Okay, that's understandable." Rose nodded.

"So, during that time… the great wizard Merlin …zzzZZzz." Professor Binns had dozed off again.

"Prof—PROFESSOR!" Rose stood up from her seat. "Please wake up! I want to learn more!"

Professor opened his eyes and floated around the classroom. Soon he drifted back to sleep.

"Merlin!" Rose dropped her textbooks to catch his attention. "You were talking about Merlin!"

"Ooh, right." Professor Binns eyes lit up. The rest of the class groaned.

**~.~.~.~.~**

"Really Rose, sometimes I just wish you'd shut up once in a while." Albus said as they headed up for Divination.

"Al, I just want a good education that's all." Rose flipped her fiery red hair.

Professor Trelawney wore a droopy, deep purple dress and had her hair wrapped up in a cloth covered in sequins. She sat on top of her desk with her legs crossed and eyes shut, chanting a soothing note over and over. She was probably meditating again. "Hello class. What did you learn from your natal charts?" Her eyes flickered open. Everyone shrugged. "How about you Panema? I enjoyed having your mother Pavarti in my class."

"Um…" Panema took out her notes. "I learned that I'm a Cancer with a Libra ascendant and my moon is in Virgo. Well, I am quite reserved and sometimes I tend to become a clean freak… I'm guessing it's my moon sign affecting me. I also believe in justice and in being fair, so that's definitely my Libra rising. I can be moody a lot too, so that explains my sun sign."

"Excellent observation, Panema." Professor Trelawney stood up from her desk and straightened her dress. "How about … ah, yes Scorpius."

"Well, obviously I'm a _Scorpio_. That explains my dazzling, intense eyes," he winked at Rose who nearly gagged and stuck her tongue out.

"How about you, Albus?" Professor Trelawney walked over to his desk.

Albus cleared his throat, "Well I found out that I'm a Leo with a Pisces rising. I tend to daydream a lot and my mind likes to wander … so it's probably my Pisces affecting me."

"Yes, yes. I have Pisces rising as well, a very creative sign indeed." She said dreamily. "How about you Selesta, my dear?"

"Um, my sun sign is in Aries, which probably explains why I'm so optimistic… even through the toughest times. I'm also a very BAM! In your face, straight-forward kind of person, so yeah …"

Trelawney simply nodded. "Next class I want all of you to find out which signs are compatible with each other and also bring your telescopes. We will be looking at star placements."

"But Professor, why bother checking out who's compatible with who? I mean, it's not like I'm necessarily going to marry someone because of their sign!" Rose piped up.

"It's just so you get a better understanding of astrology. That is all. Maybe you'll even figure out why you don't get along so well with so and so, or why you have so much in common with someone else."

"Alright," Rose sighed. _Rubbish._ She mouthed to Albus.

"You know, you remind me a lot of your mother Rose." Professor Trelawney sat up on her desk to meditate once more.

**~.~.~.~.~**

Albus invited Selesta to join him and a few other Gryffindor students, for their daily lunch routine outside on the grass. "Hello I'm Lily!" The young girl took Selesta's hand and began shaking it rapidly. "I'm Albus's sister."

"Hi, I'm Selesta."

"So what do you like to do? I'm into Quidditch. I'm the Seeker for Gryffindor, just like my father. My mother was one too for a bit, and she was also a Chaser. Actually all of us Potter's love it! James, my other brother is the team Captain and the Keeper for Gryffindor. And Albus here is the Beater for Slytherin. Still cannot believe you guys beat us last year! James was so angry he's making us work our butts off this year. By the way, Gryffindor will definitely be bringing home the cup!" Lily was talking like a loose cannon.

"Well, someone's on a sugar high." Albus teased.

"Am not!" Lily protested. "Just had some candy … oh look it's Hugo! Gotta run!" Lily chased Hugo across the grass and yelled, "Tag! You're it!"

"That's why it's dangerous to give her anything with sugar in it. She starts acting like a toddler." Albus told Selesta.

Selesta smiled, "Um Albus … I have a question. It's a little embarrassing but, what's Quidditch?"

Lily froze as her mouth flew open. "Y-y-you don't know what Quidditch is?"

"Well, Gran mentioned it once, but I've never actually knew what it was. Is it a board game? Because I've never played it before, I do like chess though."

"This cannot be happening…"Lily was rubbing her temples in a circular motion. "Ugh, I think I'm going to faint, catch me Rose!" she slid into Rose's arms. "Tell her! TELL HER ALBUS!"

"Well, it's a sport that is played while you're on a broomstick. There are two teams of seven people. Um, there are 3 Chasers, 2 Beaters, 1 Keeper and 1 Seeker. And it also involves four balls—there is a Quaffle, 2 Bludgers and a Golden Snitch. The 3 Chasers score goals with the Quaffle by throwing it into one of the other team's 3 goal posts. Each goal is worth 10 points. The one who guards the goal posts is the Keeper. Then, the 2 Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team, but hit them towards the opposing team instead. Now the Seeker is supposed to catch the Golden Snitch to end the game. The team whose Seeker catches it will receive 150 points, but it doesn't mean they will win if the other team still has more points before the Snitch is caught. So that's basically it." Albus explained.

"Sounds way more fun than any board game I've ever played. I wish I could play … or watch at least," beamed Selesta.

"You can watch us practice tomorrow," announced Albus.

"Oi! What do you mean tomorrow? That's Gryffindor's field tomorrow Al!" James had finally stopped snogging Delilah and went for some fresh air.

"Nope. I'm pretty sure Professor Slughorn gave us permission to use the field," said Albus.

"Nuh-uh!" James puffed up his chest.

"Yeah-huh!" Albus tried mimicking James.

"Gah, let's get out of here Lilah. There is someone I CANNOT STAND seeing with my eyes!" James stomped out of the grass while he held Delilah's hand. "YOU MAKE ME SICK!" He shouted at Albus.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 - The Past**

"Ow!" A Bludger had smacked into the back of Albus's head. He turned his broom around and saw Scorpius looking away, whistling as if he were innocent. "I know it was you!"

Scorpius could no longer keep a straight face. "My bad Potty, my hand slipped."

"I thought we were supposed to be a team!" snapped Albus.

"I know my father has told me to have some respect for you Potter's, but I don't really like you."

"Well, I'm not very fond of you either, so I guess we're even!" Albus swung his bat and smashed another Bludger towards Scorpius, who ducked just before it was 2 inches above his head. Instead, it hit a really tall, muscular fellow. It was Gerald Storm, the team Captain who took Quidditch very seriously.

"Hey!" Gerald barked. "Not you two monkey heads, again. Stop fooling around or I'm kicking your butts off the team!"

Albus did his best to calm his anger, while Scorpius tried to keep his insults to himself. They passed the Bludger to each other a couple of times and didn't even attempt to hit each other on purpose. They set aside their differences and behaved themselves for the sake of the Quidditch cup. They even chanted, "For the cup!" a few times.

"Woo! Go Albus!" Selesta cheered. She was the only person sitting on the benches, but seemed very excited as if a real game was going on. Albus waved and did not see the Bludger that Scorpius passed to him. It hit Shelby Doolittle straight in the face. She quickly fell off of her broom and plummeted towards the ground, landing head first.

"NOOO!" Gerald bellowed. "Now you've done it! She was our best Seeker! Someone take her to Madame Pomfrey. Hopefully none of her bones are broken, or else she won't get to play!" A scrawny, zit-faced boy and a tall, blonde girl hurried by Shelby's side. They helped her up and dragged her body to the hospital wing. "Alright, that's it for the day! Everyone, collect all the Bludgers, the Quaffle and the Snitch!" commanded Gerald.

Selesta went down to meet Albus out on the field. "I think it was partially my fault for getting your Seeker hurt … I shouldn't have come."

"No, no. I was stupid. I didn't see the Bludger." Albus muttered.

"Has anyone seen the Snitch?" Gerald asked. Everyone looked around the field, but there was no sign of the golden ball.

Suddenly, Selesta's eyes widened. She squinted just to make sure and she was positive that she saw something small, golden and shiny. She impulsively took Albus's broom and flew towards the Snitch. It darted from left to right before she could put her hand around it. Then it shot upwards as she carefully tried standing on her broom, clawing at the Snitch. She nearly slipped but quickly put her fingers around the handle of the broom and sat back down. The Snitch fell towards the ground as she swiftly swooped down following closely behind. She put her hands out in front of her, like she was ready to clap and felt the small ball squirming around between her fingers. She flew back towards the field and handed the Snitch to Gerald. "I think we've found our Seeker substitute," he said impressed.

"That was awesome!" said Selesta as she walked towards the library with Albus.

"You're a natural!" He gave her a high five. "So Gerald wants you to read about the game as much as you can. Looks like you will replace Shelby for a while. She broke a couple of bones and is still quite dizzy."

They collected as many books on Quidditch as they could and stacked a 3 foot pile on a table. "Well, better get reading!" Selesta gulped.

"So where did you learn to fly so well?" Albus asked.

"Let's see, my mother loved riding her broom in our backyard. I used to watch her all the time when I was like 5 years old. But Gran mostly taught me the basics. Even till today, she can still probably ride that thing better than me."

"Did you get your brains from your grandmother as well? I mean you're excellent at Potions … and that's like my worst subject!" said Albus.

"Oh no, I think I inherited it my love of Potions from my grandfather. He used to teach that subject at Hogwarts and was even the headmaster for a while," said Selesta.

"He doesn't happen to be Severus Snape, does he?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Well, I'm sort of named after him. My full name is Albus _Severus_ Potter. He taught my father and he even went to school with my grandparents. I didn't know he had children."

"Well…that's the thing." Selesta cleared her throat. "He didn't know either. He probably didn't even know my mother existed. You see my grandmother Saveria was an old friend of his. They had met at a bar where Gran used to be a waitress. She noticed how sad he looked, and found out he got his heart broken by a girl that had just gotten married to another man. Soon, he showed up at the bar almost every night and she sort of befriended him. They even became closer than friends for a while. Later she found out she was pregnant with my mum. He proposed to her, but she refused to marry him and told him it was a false alarm. She loved him. She really did, but she could see that his heart still belonged to the other girl, and that he could never love her the same way. So she let him go and he went on to join the 'Death Eaters'. She hasn't seen him ever since, but she heard news about him from time to time."

"He loved Lily," said Albus quietly.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"My grandmother…Lily," Albus traced his finger along the letters of a Quidditch textbook. "I've heard stories about him from my father."

"Oh," breathed Selesta. "Well I guess I'll be taking these books then." Albus helped Selesta carry her books, but stopped outside the girls' dormitory. They told each other goodnight and he walked back to his dorm.

**~.~.~.~.~**

"Wow that must've been bloody awkward." Rose said during Arithmancy. Albus had told her about what happened the other night.

"Extremely," Albus replied. "I felt so bad too! She must hate my family."

**~.~.~.~.~**

At the beginning of lunch, Albus found Selesta already chatting with Lily and Rose. "I heard you're the new Slytherin Seeker!" Rose said excitedly. "At least you know more about Quidditch now!"

"Yup, I've been reading the books non-stop. I even brought one with me right now!" Selesta took out a Quidditch textbook from her bag. "Hey Albus! Get your butt over here!" Selesta spotted him standing by a tree.

"So you're not mad?" he whispered in her ear.

"Why would I be mad? You mean about last night? What's happened has happened, besides that's all in the past now!" said Selesta.

"Yeah, chillax bro!" Lily patted his shoulder. Albus couldn't help laughing at Lily's attempt at an American accent. Soon, even Selesta laughed and snorted out some pumpkin juice from her nose. This made Albus laugh even harder. Rose on the other hand thought it was extremely disgusting and immature.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 – The Invitation**

For the next few months, Albus and Selesta became very close. She actually became one of his best friends and they could talk about anything with each other. Albus even thought he was beginning to have some feelings for her. But he didn't plan on telling her that anytime soon, it might scare her off.

"Ready Al?" Selesta asked as they were ready to go out onto the field with the other Slytherins.

"I was born ready." Albus winked. It was their first game of the season and they were playing against Ravenclaw. Selesta held his hand for a moment and said, "I don't know if I am…this is the first real game I'm playing in."

"We've been practicing our behinds. You'll do great." Albus reassured her.

Selesta squeezed his hand, "I hope so."

**~.~.~.~.~**

Alvan Jordan cleared his throat, "Hello folks and welcome to the first Quidditch game of the season. Today's game is between Slytherin and Ravenclaw!" The crowd went wild and screamed from the top of their lungs. People from the Ravenclaw side had on blue and bronze coloured scarves and matching flags, while the Slytherin students were covered in green and silver.

As Selesta flew up towards the sky, her stomach did a backflip after seeing all the people watching her. Albus waved at her and gave her a thumbs up. "You'll do fine!" he mouthed. She carefully took her position, and watched down from below her to see Madame Hooch step out onto the field. First she released the Bludgers and the golden Snitch, and then she reached into the wooden crate and threw the Quaffle into the air. "…the Quaffle is released! Let the game begin!" shouted Alvan.

A tall girl with platinum blonde hair, quickly swooped down and snatched the Quaffle before any of the other players could catch it. She flew towards the Ravenclaw goal posts while 2 players tried to claw at her. She easily avoided them and threw the Quaffle with all her might through the large hoop. _Ding! _"Leah Kohlstone scores! And that's 10 points for Slytherin!" The Slytherins went berserk and waved their flags in excitement. Selesta did a fist pump in the air and clapped her hands. She nearly lost her balance when she heard a weird buzzing sound behind her. She peeked over her shoulder. It was the Snitch! Selesta reached for it, but of course it wouldn't be that easy. It zoomed past her till all she could see was a speck of gold way over at the Ravenclaw side. She hurriedly flew towards it when she heard another _Ding! _"Melaney Grind scores 10 points for Ravenclaw!" announced Alvan. The Ravenclaw students cheered.

Selesta was so close to the Snitch when her broom started spinning uncontrollably. Everything became blurry as she held tightly to the handle. "What's going on?" she heard some voices mumble. "What is she doing?" "Something's wrong with her broom!" "SELESTA!" Albus shouted.

"Whoa, what's going on up there? It seems like Selesta's broom is moving on its own!"_ Ding! Ding! _"20 more points for Ravenclaw!" bellowed Alvan. "And now Slytherin's Kellie Marx has caught the Quaffle …she passes it to her teammate Mackenzie … oh no! It slipped from her hands and now Louis from Ravenclaw has it. Never mind, a Bludger from Scorpius knocked him off his broom … and now the Quaffle is back with Kellie. Yes Kellie, looking mighty fine today. You go girl!" Professor McGonagall gave Alvan a disapproving look. "Right Professor … I'll keep those thoughts to myself." He smiled sheepishly. _Ding! _"Yes and Slytherin scores! Will you go out with me Ke—I mean good job Slytherin!"

Selesta's broom tried to jerk her off as her palms began to sweat. The Snitch flew right up to her face teasingly. If she could just catch it, the game would be over and done with. But how could she control her broom? She lifted up her right hand and attempted to catch the golden ball, but instead her broom flipped her over. Selesta yelped has her hands tried desperately to hold on. She could hear squeaking as her sweaty palms slipped slowly from the handle of the wooden broom. It then gave a final shake and Selesta could feel herself falling as she watched her broom float above her. Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms catch her. She looked up and saw a familiar face. It was Albus. "Miss me?" he smiled.

Selesta quickly positioned herself on Albus's broom as they flew together. "I need to get back on my broom." She said as they duck to avoid a Bludger.

"What? You might fall again …alright. But I'll be flying near you just in case," replied Albus.

"Ahh!" Selesta forgot to duck this time when a Bludger from Lorcan Scamander almost knocked her off of Albus's broom. Luckily, he got a hold of her arm before she slipped again. A second Bludger from Lysander Scamander almost smacked into her, until Albus swung his bat and it headed back towards the twins. Albus then swerved his broom and flew towards Selesta's wooden stick of fury. It shook wildly when she tried putting her leg over it, but she managed to get a good grip on the handle. "I'll be right behind you." Albus patted her back.

Once again, Selesta's broom tried to shake her off, but she held on tightly. This time she was determined not to fall. No matter what would happen, she was not letting go. She peered around the field as she saw everything, and everyone move swiftly. As far as she could tell, there was no sign of the Snitch anywhere. She looked over at Candace Finnigan, who was the other Seeker for Ravenclaw. She was sitting on her broom looking bored as ever. All of a sudden, her eyes flickered and she zoomed towards the sky. Selesta followed behind, along with Albus on her tail. She caught a glimpse of the golden ball, but the sun glared violently into her eyes. She turned away and focused on Candace. She was reaching for the Snitch when Selesta caught up with her. They were now side by side, trying to grab the golden ball. Selesta stretched her arms and fingers as far as she could and almost felt the Snitch. Candace was doing the same, but clumsily leaned in too much and nearly fell off her broom. Selesta got a hold of her robes and pulled her up. "Thanks!" gasped Candace. Selesta nodded and didn't realize the Snitch was right up to her nose, until she recognized the buzzing noise. She clapped her hands together and felt the golden ball. "I caught it," she breathed. She flew back down and raised her hand with the Snitch proudly. "Selesta has caught the Snitch! Slytherin wins!" shouted Alvan.

Albus landed next to Selesta. "We won! We won! We won!" she shrieked as she put her arms around him, and hugged him tightly.

Albus smiled and hugged her back, "And it's all because of you…"

"No, it's all of us. We worked as a team." She took his arm and skipped across the field as if she were in a parade. The rest of the Slytherin team ran to them and lifted them up chanting, "Selesta! Selesta! Selesta!"

When Albus was on his way to the Great Hall for supper, he couldn't help but skip happily after remembering Slytherin's victory. He was so ecstatic that he didn't even notice that someone was in front of him. He accidently bumped into a girl with curly dark hair, and knocked her books to the floor. "I'm so sorry!" He quickly helped to pick up her books.

"Oh it's no biggie," the girl said in a high voice. "Hey, aren't you Albus Potter? Good job on the field today! I have a feeling we're going to win the cup this year!"

"Thanks! Yeah I hope so too." Albus nodded in agreement. "Um…I'm sorry but I don't remember your name. I've seen you in some of my classes, but we've never spoken to each other. Aren't you a Slytherin prefect?"

"Yes I am," she put her hand in front of her. "I'm Veronica Elddir."

Albus shook her hand, "Nice to finally speak with you. Are you heading down to the Great Hall?"

"Oh, yes." She grinned.

"Okay, we can walk there together."

**~.~.~.~.~**

"Lesta, have you already eaten the chicken without me?" Albus poked Selesta on her side.

"Ha! Ha! Very funny. After the game we had today, I'm starving!" she held her stomach.

"Oh, this is Veronica Elddir," Albus pointed. "I believe we have some classes with her. I still cannot believe we haven't spoken with each other before."

"Hello, Selesta." Veronica smiled sweetly. "Good job with catching the Snitch. I was so worried when you nearly fell. Lucky you've got a good grip on your broom."

"Uh …thanks," said Selesta. "Oh hey, I remember you. We have Art class together. One time I saw you drawing a twig with a hand around it …or was it a wand?"

"Yes, I was drawing the Elder Wand." Veronica scooped up some mashed potatoes and laid them on her plate.

"The Elder Wand?" Albus asked. He pretended he knew nothing about it, but his father mentioned it before.

"Yes, the Elder Wand." Veronica repeated. "Also known as the Deathstick, or the Wand of Destiny. The wand that many wizards would kill to have. With it, you'll have great power and will become unbeatable in any duel. I wish I had it."

"Well, I'm content with my wand." Selesta sighed. "Rosewood, 10 ½ inches, Unicorn tail hair core. There's no other wand out there for me. Not one that fits in my hand perfectly like this one. It even smells like apples." She sniffed her wand. "I usually keep it by the fruit basket at home. It reminds me of home …and Gran. I miss Gran."

Albus nodded. "Yeah I don't think I'd replace my wand either. It's just that I've had it for so long, I've grown quite attached to it."

"Suit yourselves, more chance for me to get my hands on it." Veronica said confidently.

"I don't know," said Albus. "I heard it's just a myth. And if it were real, no one knows where it is!"

"Pfft! That's what they all say, but I think it's real. I mean have you heard of the time when nobody would believe that that Voldemort guy was really back? And it turned out he really was! You can't always believe what you hear," said Veronica.

Albus and Selesta nodded in agreement. "You've got a point there."

"Attention everyone, please listen up! I have an announcement to make." Everyone turned to face Professor McGonagall. "Your teachers and I have been talking and have come to a conclusion. This year, Hogwarts will be holding a school dance! We haven't come up with a theme yet, but I think we will let the Head Boys, Girls and the prefects collect votes from you students. We're hoping to have it just after the Christmas holidays. I do hope you students consider Disco as one of the potential themes. One thing is for certain, this dance will definitely be funky!" McGonagall shook her hips as everyone bursted out laughing.

"You're the coolest Headmistress ever!" James stood up and shouted from his seat. All the houses cheered in agreement.

"I am quite flattered," McGonagall blushed. "And you're some of the greatest students Hogwarts could ever have."

The crowd went wild and sang, "McGonagall! McGonagall! McGonagall!" for the rest of the night.

**~.~.~.~.~**

"What about a Hawaiian theme?" Rose was talking to herself as she wrote down some ideas on her notepad. "Nah, we'll be freezing to death in grass skirts and coconut bras. I mean look at all this snow! I know! How about a robot theme?" Rose attempted to do the robot dance.

"Rose will you give it a rest?" said Albus as he wrapped a scarf around his neck. "I don't want to hear another word about themes or anything to do with the dance. Will you relax for a while? Let's just have a fun AND _peaceful _time at Hogsmeade. Okay?"

"But I …"

"Nu-uh!"

"I have to – "

"Shh!"

"Al, please …"

"Zip it!" Albus tossed her notepad to the side. "You're always so serious."

"Okay…" Rose said sadly in defeat. Selesta patted her on the back and whispered, "I think a robot theme would be cool."

"I heard that!" said Albus.

The three of them decided to go visit the _**Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes **_joke shopfirst. Once they got inside, there was an explosion of small colourful fireworks everywhere. Different kinds of candy bars were stacked on many endless shelves, and a lot of kids were looking quite strange. Some of them had really long tongues that nearly touched the floor, others were turning bright purple and there were even kids that were throwing up. Albus spotted a tall, lean man with red hair standing by the staircase. It was George Weasley.

"Uncle George!" Albus and Rose ran up to him.

"Al! Rosie! Good to see you!" He wrapped his arms around them. "How are you two troublemakers doing?"

"Troublemakers? Excuse me?" said Rose slightly insulted.

"Oh, right. We've got little miss goody two shoes here." George winked. "Must've mistaken you two for me and your uncle… Fred." He smiled weakly. "So who's this young lady?"

"This is our friend Selesta," said Rose.

"Nice to meet you, sir. Your shop is lovely!" said Selesta.

"Oh, please you're welcome to try anything you like. It's on me! Come along you three. I've got something for you to try. I recommend my latest invention …_Gaseous Beans_! Fred junior helped me out with them." He pointed at a bunch of caramel coloured looking jellybeans. Albus, Selesta and Rose each popped one into their mouths.

"What do these Gaseous Beans …" Rose froze. "Wait a minute." She quickly spit out the bean. Before she could warn the others, Selesta already let out an ear shattering burp. Albus on the other hand let out a bunch of mini toots.

"That's right. Gaseous Beans lets you get out all that gas. Whether it's a burp, fart, or who knows what else in gas form." George looked quite proud.

"I can see that…no make that _smell_," Rose plugged her nose in disgust. She quickly ran out the door with the others following on her trail.

"Oh, both of your parents told me to tell you that there will be a family gathering for Christmas! But feel free to bring a friend or two!" George called out after them. They gave him a thumbs up and headed for The Three Broomsticks.

"Hey Selesta, want to come join us for our family dinner?" asked Albus as he sipped some of his Butterbeer.

"Sure, but I'll have to ask Gran first. She'll most likely say 'yes' though. She'll be delighted to know I made new friends." Selesta replied.

"Um…Rose," a voice called from behind her. "Can I ask you something?" It was Scorpius Malfoy. Albus was a bit shocked. He had never heard Scorpius call her by her first name before. Rose followed him by the corner as Selesta and Albus watched them talk. Surprisingly, Rose didn't have her usual disgusted face on. Instead, she looked like she was …blushing. When she sat back down beside Albus and Selesta, she gulped down a mouthful of Butterbeer.

Albus eyed Rose suspiciously, "Well?"

"What?" Rose jerked her head up.

"What did he want?" Selesta stared her down.

"He… asked me to the dance." Rose said quietly.

Albus spit out his Butterbeer. "HE WHAT?" You said _no,_ right?"

Rose remained motionless and stared silently at her glass.

"You said **NO** …right?" Albus repeated.

"Well…I kinda, sorta, maybe…" Rose sighed. "I said YES!"

"WHY? He's a jerk!" Albus slammed his glass on the table.

"Actually, he's been a lot nicer lately. Ever since he started hanging out less with Milo and Cunis, he hasn't insulted me for the past few months. He even stopped calling me _Weasley_. He's also helped me with my Divination homework. By the way, did you know that Virgos and Scorpios are actually pretty compatible? He's not such a bad guy after all. We've even got a lot in common … I mean we both love getting top marks, we hate failing and we're both pretty ambitious. So, I decided to invite him for the Christmas dinner …" said Rose. Albus choked on his Butterbeer and coughed wildly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 – Let it Snow!**

It was all too much. Albus was afraid that Scorpius had feelings for Rose, and now it had gotten much worse! It seemed as if she returned those feelings back. But if it were true about the part where Scorpius was becoming nicer … oh who is she kidding? It's Scorpius Malfoy! The disrespectful, arrogant, mean bloke who always insulted everyone. Albus could not believe he had the nerve to ask his cousin out to the dance….the dance! Who was Albus going to take to the dance? Only one girl popped into his head. But he didn't have the guts to ask her.

For the rest of the day, Albus tried not to look at Selesta. He also kept the dance as far away from his thoughts as possible. But he couldn't help looking into her gorgeous eyes that were in a deep shade of purple, and her soft pink lips that looked so delicate against her pale skin. From the moment he first laid his eyes on her; he knew there was something special about Selesta …something different.

Out of nowhere, a strange sniffling sound caught their attention. Sitting by a bench was Veronica Elddir, curled up in a ball all alone. Her eyes were puffy and her nose was bright red. Albus and the others went up to her to ask what was wrong.

"My M-Muggle grandparents," she stuttered as tears streamed down her face. "They don't want me home for Christmas. They hate me! They think I'm a freak!"

"I'm sure they don't mean that. Maybe they're just a little scared because we can do things that don't seem possible in their world. With time, I'm sure they'll accept you for who you are." Selesta patted her back.

"My father had to deal with Muggle relatives that thought he was a freak as well! But he didn't let them take down his spirit. And now, after all these years, they finally have some respect for him." Albus said. "You can come with us for the Christmas holidays if you like."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" Veronica swung her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.

Selesta cleared her throat, "I think we should be heading back to Hogwarts."

Rose checked her watch, "Selesta's right!"

**~.~.~.~.~**

The next morning, a parliament of owls flew through the Great Hall. They dropped different packages and envelopes onto the tables where the students were eating breakfast. A small white envelope along with a tiny red box, landed near Selesta's bowl of cereal. Her fingers fumbled with the envelope as she tried to tear it open. "It's a letter from Gran!" she told Albus. "She said YES! I can go spend Christmas with your family. She also said she has an early present for me." She opened the small red box and gasped. "It's my mother's lucky bracelet!" She pulled out a golden bangle that took the form of a small snake, which coiled around her wrist. "My mother's Patronus was a snake. Oh Gran this is the best present ever!"

A late Snowy Owl swooped down in front of Albus. It had a dark brown package in its beak. "Thanks Chicken Wing," Albus said as he scratched the owl under its beak. Selesta stared at him wondering if he were joking about the owl's name. "What? I like chicken. You should know. Remember the first time we met?"

Selesta snorted, "I remember."

Albus opened the package and found a container filled with warm chocolate chip cookies along with a letter. He passed the cookies on to Selesta who eyed them greedily, while he read the letter.

_Dearest Albus, _

_We've noticed you've been talking a lot about this Selesta girl lately. She seems like a really great person and we are very excited to meet her soon. It's been a little lonely here without you kids around, but your father and I have been getting into some new hobbies. I've been trying to learn the Muggle sport called 'Baseball'. It's rather strange for me. I mean with all the running and getting to the bases. I think it would be way more exciting if they used brooms. Your father on the other hand has been learning how to knit. Your aunt Hermione taught him and so far he's made you, Rose and James each a sweater. To be honest, they look a little bizarre. The sleeves aren't exactly the same length but try not to hurt his feelings. You know his temper. He just blows up, so I'd appreciate if you kids wear them for Christmas. He's just adding some patterns onto them. Oh, I miss you all so much and I cannot wait to see you. _

_P.S. We've made some chocolate chips cookies to remind you of home. Just try not to eat them all in one sitting. I don't want you to get a stomach ache. _

_ With Love,_

_ Mum_

Albus turned to Selesta and saw she had almost finished all of the cookies. She smiled sheepishly, "I'm sorry I couldn't help myself. They're so delicious!"

After breakfast, Albus went up to his dorm to pack his things. He later went into the Hogwarts Express and found his friends already seated in a compartment. Albus took a window seat across from Selesta with Rose by his side. Moments later, Veronica followed and sat down beside Selesta. She held in her hands a book titled, _The Dark Wizard: Voldemort's History._ She flipped through it curiously and began taking notes with a flying notepad and quill. Rose couldn't help but notice and looked at the book in disgust.

"You're reading about that horrible man?" said Rose.

"He may have been horrible, but he was a brilliant wizard." Veronica kept her eyes on the book. "I mean have you heard how powerful he became? It's a shame he turned to the dark side though."

"Because of his obsession with power, many people have died!" Rose cried. "Muggles have been tortured and killed! And even if you were a wizard, you'd still be murdered anyways if you were against him and his Death Eaters. I mean Teddy Lupin had to grow up without his parents and grandfather, and I didn't even get a chance to meet my uncle Fred." Rose then turned to Albus. "Albus's father lost his parents too. He would've died also, but he miraculously survived the killing curse. So if you don't mind Veronica, will you please keep that book out of my sight?"

"Alright, alright if it bothers you that much." Veronica tucked the book into her shoulder bag that was covered in colourful beads.

For the next few minutes, there was an awkward silence in their compartment. Selesta fiddled with her thumbs and stared out the window, Rose had her arms crossed and glared at the ceiling, Veronica started drawing in her notepad and Albus tried his hardest to stay awake. Just then, a blond haired boy popped into their compartment. It was Scorpius Malfoy. He smiled at Rose and waved. "Hi Rose!"

"H-h-hi Scorpius!" Rose blushed. Even after he walked away, Rose was still bright red as a tomato. Albus stared at her and gave her the _what-do-you-see-in-him?_ look.

"He's changed!" Rose told Albus.

"I don't believe it. Any of it! It's probably all just an act," said Albus.

"Al, if you just gave him a chance …"

"No."

"Well then fine! I guess we can agree to disagree!" Rose shoved a chocolate frog into her mouth and chewed angrily.

For the rest of the trip, Albus watched the girls paint each other's nails. They even offered to do his, and he shook his head in horror_. I really need to get more guy friends. _Albus thought to himself. Selesta held out a bottle of some hot pink nail polish that had some glitter added to it. Rose looked at Albus threateningly and grinned. She looked at the other girls and they returned her smile. Luckily, the train had stopped right before the girls even had a chance to touch Albus's hands. He quickly dashed out of the compartment and was the very first person to get off of the train.

"Albus!" A familiar voice called his name. Albus quickly spun around and saw his father. He ran up to him and gave him a great big bear hug. "Oh I've missed you son."

"Missed you too dad," Albus smiled.

Selesta, Veronica and Rose came running behind, dragging their suitcases along. James and Delilah however were taking their time as they gazed into each other's eyes. Lily squeezed past them and shuddered in disgust. She ran up to her father and climbed up his shoulders like a baby monkey.

"Never too old for piggy back rides, eh Lils?" Harry chortled. Lily shook her head.

"Hey Uncle Harry!" Rose greeted. "Have you seen my parents?"

"Hello Rosie. Good to see you, dear. Your parents were just parking the car…" said Harry.

Suddenly, Rose's eyes lit up. "Mum! Dad!" She raced down towards them and saw Hugo already being covered by their mother's kisses. Rose quickly put her arms around her dad and he spun her around in a dizzying hug,

Harry waved goodbye to Ron and Hermione and led Albus, Selesta and Veronica to his car. "Hello girls, nice to meet you." He shook Selesta's hand, "You must be Veronica." Then he took Veronica's hand, "…and you are Selesta!"

The girls giggled. Albus shook his head. "No, no, no! Dad, this is Selesta and that is Veronica." He corrected.

Harry chuckled, "I'm so sorry. Maybe Mrs. Potter will do better with figuring out your names."

**~.~.~.~.~**

"James! Lily! Albus!" Ginny trudged through the snow in boots and a robe. She pulled her children towards her and squeezed them all in a tight embrace. She grabbed each of their faces in her hands and filled their cheeks with kisses.

"Not in front of my girlfriend, MOM!" James wiped off his cheek with his sleeve and led Delilah into their house.

Ginny rolled her eyes and whispered to the others, "He loves my kisses."

"NOOOO! NO I DON'T!" James's voice boomed through a window and slammed it shut.

Ginny smiled and faced Albus and Lily. "I've missed you three," she once again kissed their foreheads.

"It's like this every year we come home," Albus whispered to Selesta.

"You must be Selesta, hi." Ginny shook Veronica's hand.

"No mum, that's Veronica!" said Albus. "This is Selesta," he pointed.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry! Hello Veronica," Ginny shook her hand again and turned to the real Selesta. "And hello to you Selesta. I've heard a lot about you."

Albus cleared his throat and told his mother to keep quiet when he thought Selesta wasn't looking. Selesta simply laughed and said, "Nice to meet you too Mrs. Potter. Thank you for letting us stay here for Christmas."

"Oh it's my pleasure. Come girls, I'll show you where the guest room is!" Ginny took both Veronica and Selesta, and led them upstairs to a room with 2 beds.

Selesta and Veronica were both unpacking their things when a knock on the door startled them. Lily came and barged in dressed in a really thick, furry white coat along with mittens and winter boots. "Come on! Albus told us to meet him outside!"

They hurriedly put on their jackets and followed Lily to the front yard, but there was no sign of Albus. Selesta decided to call his name, "Al—"

A snowball smacked right into the back of Selesta's neck, and a burst of laughter filled the air. "Al! I know that was you!" said Selesta slightly annoyed as she wiped off the snow from her freezing neck. "Where are y-"

Another snowball hit her on the cheek. "I swear when I find you…" Selesta breathed. A third snowball hit the tip of her nose.

"It's cold. I'm going back inside," murmured Veronica.

"Suit yourself!" Albus popped out behind a snowy bush and threw a snowball at Lily.

"Ow!" she shouted. "Come on Selesta, let's get him!" Lily took a handful of snow and aimed at Albus, but it missed and hit a nearby tree instead.

"We both know you're not the best thrower Lily." Albus threw another snowball which slammed into Lily's face. Selesta quickly pulled her down and they took cover behind a fountain. She then gathered up some snow and began creating as many snowballs as she could. She divided them in half equally and handed some to Lily.

"Let's run to where he is and split up at the last moment to confuse him." Selesta whispered in Lily's ear. They quickly got up and charged towards Albus who kept on throwing snowballs at them. They then ran in opposite directions which did confuse him for a bit, but he chose to go after Lily. He chased her and hit her many times on the back. She tried fighting back but only got one lucky snowball hit Albus on the chin. She clumsily tripped on the snow as Albus gave her a final blow to the chest. He also gave her a chilly face wash. "You're next Selesta!" he said ravenously and ran away from Lily's helpless body.

Selesta crawled over to Lily. "No, go on without me partner. I've been hit!" Lily said dramatically as she clutched her chest.

"Oh get up!" demanded Selesta. "This is not over!"

Selesta scanned the trees and bushes. She knew Albus was hiding behind one of them. Lily nudged her and pointed to something bright orange and rubbery. It looked a lot like the tip of a boot. Albus's boot. Selesta got down on her stomach and clawed through the snow with Lily following behind. Once they were close enough, they got up and aimed for Albus's head. A few hit Albus right on his forehead and eyes which blinded him for a moment. This gave the girls the chance to tackle him down and shove some snow down his shirt. They laughed hysterically as they watched him jerk around like he was dancing crazily.

"Will you guys knock it off?" James shouted as he walked out of the front door. "I'm usually the troublemaker in this house, but right now you guys are super annoying! Delilah and I are trying to—"

A snowball hit James on the cheek. "You guys are dead," he growled.

For the rest of the day, James covered everyone in muddy snowballs. Delilah wasn't too happy that they didn't get to do their daily snog, but she would just have to wait.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** _I would like to say THANK YOU! to xXxLunaMayPotterxXx for the review and for others that are reading. I was beginning to give up on this story, but I shall finish writing it! Hopefully before school starts. MUAHAHAHAHAH. (:_

**Chapter 7 – The Deathly Hallows**

It wasn't until Ginny finally told the kids to get themselves cleaned up for dinner, when the snow war had finally ended.

"That's weird," Harry said as he sat down onto his chair in the dining room.

"What's weird honey?" asked Ginny as she passed the bowl of peas to Lily.

"Well Gin, I could've sworn I cleaned up our room earlier … and I put everything in a neat pile. But some of the drawers have been opened and the books have been messily put away."

"Oh sorry, I was looking for the cookbook. And as for the drawers, maybe you just forgot to close them." Ginny said.

"Yeah…maybe," Harry wasn't completely convinced but he decided it wasn't such a big deal. "So you're the Selesta that Albus couldn't stop writing about." He smiled at her.

"Um yes," Selesta looked up shyly.

"And you're also Snape's granddaughter. Wow, this is amazing. I can kind of see the resemblance. You have the same black hair and fair skin. I've also heard you're brilliant at Potions. My worst subject." Harry chuckled. "He was the bravest man I knew. It's such a shame he didn't get to meet you."

"Oh well, at least I've still got Gran," Selesta said as she poured some gravy over her mashed potatoes. "And she has told me loads of stories about him, so it's almost as if I knew him."

"Please, do tell." Harry said intrigued.

**~.~.~.~.~**

The following morning, Albus came knocking on Selesta and Veronica's door. When no one answered, Albus closed his eyes and crept in. "If you guys are changing I swear my eyes are closed!" All Albus could hear was the sound of someone snoring softly. He carefully opened his left eye, and then his right. He saw Selesta on one side of the room covered in sheets and also noticed Veronica's empty bed.

"Merry Christmas," Albus whispered into Selesta's ear.

She opened her eyes and yawned." What are you doing here?"

"Oh I just wanted to talk to you. By the way, where's Veronica?"

"She's probably in the bathroom," said Selesta.

_Thump! Thump! Thump! _

"What was that?" Albus jumped.

_Thump! Thump! Thump!_

"I think the sound is coming from the closet," he got up and when towards it, but Selesta ran up and blocked his way.

"Um, it's probably just a big rat or something. Come on, let's go!" Selesta took his hand and dragged him out of the room. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Oh right, maybe we should go outside and talk. Don't want to wake anyone up," Albus forced a nervous laugh.

Once they were outside, they sat down on the first step of the stairway that led to the house. Albus could feel his palms starting to sweat even though it was chilly outside. He realized he had never in his life been this nervous before. He looked at Selesta and smiled not knowing how to say what he wanted to tell her. "Selesta, I …um …you see I …" he stammered. "I really, really …like you and I was wondering if you'd like to go to the school dance with me." Albus blurted out and closed his eyes. He clenched his fists and braced himself for her answer. He was a bit scared about what he was going to hear, but he couldn't change what he said now.

"You look constipated," Selesta snickered.

Albus opened his eyes and felt his face heat up from embarrassment. He was probably pinker than the inside of a watermelon by now.

"Yes," Selesta smiled.

"Yes what?" Albus asked blankly.

"I'll go to the dance with you."

_YES! _Albus thought to himself. Just then, he hadn't realized how close Selesta was until she was only 2 inches away from the tip of his nose. She closed her eyes and leaned in slowly, he did the same but the front door opened and startled them.

A tired looking James with messy hair yawned and scratched his armpit. He was about to get down and reach for the morning paper when he laid his eyes on Selesta and Albus. "Oh," his eyes widened. "OHHHHH! My little brother getting his first snog?" Albus winked. "I'll leave you two alone."

Albus rolled his eyes while Selesta laughed her head off. Once she finally stopped and wiped the happy tears from her eyes, she put on a serious face and looked at him. "Albus, can I ask you something now?"

"Uh…sure," he replied.

"What do you know about the Elder Wand?"

Albus looked over at his feet. "The Elder Wand? Why do you want to know about that Lesta? You're sounding kind of like Veronica."

"I'm simply just curious. So do you know anything about it?" She batted her eyelashes.

"No," said Albus.

All of a sudden, Albus felt a cool breeze dance up his spine. He felt like clouds were seeping into his mind as all of his worries were washed away from his body. A voice spoke in his head and said, _Tell her what you know about the Elder Wand. _Albus felt his lips move on its own and words started coming out of his mouth. "The Elder Wand is the most powerful—"

"Yeah I already know that. Yada yada yada …" said Selesta impatiently. "But where is it?"

"I don't know," Albus shrugged. Once again, he heard the voice in his mind saying, _Tell her where it is!_ "But my father knows," Albus felt his mouth moving beyond his control.

"Thank you," Selesta grinned. "And lastly, do you know where the Resurrection Stone is?"

_Tell her! _The voice commanded and Albus obeyed. "It's in the Forbidden Forest."

"Where exactly in the forest?"

"My father dropped it. It's somewhere in the forest floor." Albus shook his head and slapped himself on the cheek. "I feel kind of strange."

"You're fine," Selesta held his shoulder.

"So why did you ask me those questions?"

"Oh, I've just been reading about the Deathly Hallows. The wand and the stone seem interesting, but the cloak sounds pretty much useless. You can just use an Invisibility spell." Selesta rolled her eyes and stroked her hair, which looked a little frizzy.

Selesta's hair was usually straight and shiny, but maybe it was just the weather. She gasped once she noticed how curly her hair was becoming. "I-I-I have to go!" she stuttered and ran back inside.

_Girls. Always worrying about the littlest things …like their hair! _Albus thought to himself. _I'll never understand them._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 – Christmas with the Potters**

_Ding Dong!_

"I'll get it!" James hurried down the stairs to open the front door.

A lady in a bright orange coat and a polka dot dress took his face in her hands and began kissing him. "James-y!"

"Aw, grandma! I just washed my face!" James whined and ran up to the washroom.

"Grandma Molly!" Lily and Albus ran up to her and gave her a hug.

"Oh well it's nice to feel loved from by OTHER grandchildren." Molly Weasley gave them a tight squeeze.

"Grandma, I do love you!" James called up from upstairs. His face was covered in soap suds as he scrubbed gently with a towel. "It's just … personal space!"

"ROOOOAR!" A man carrying a 5 foot stack of presents walked up to Molly, Lily and Albus.

"Grandpa!" Lily wrapped her arms around him. He nearly tripped and dropped all of the presents, but luckily, Molly pulled out her wand and safely let them land underneath the Christmas tree.

"You know I'm not 6 years old anymore. I'm not easily scared of anything nowadays!" Lily puffed up her chest proudly.

"Sure you aren't kiddo. I believe you." Arthur Weasley grinned. "And how are you Albus?" he asked as he ruffled his grandson's hair.

"I'm fine grandpa," Albus smiled.

"Come here and give your old man a hug."

Albus walked up to his grandfather who gave him a one arm embrace and a pat on the back.

**~.~.~.~.~**

"Ginny! What is this?" Molly Weasley shrieked.

Ginny came running into the living room in an apron with her hands covered in flour. "What is it mum?"

"The tree! It's much too small!" Molly raised her wand and said "_Engorgio!_"

The limp, evergreen coniferous tree grew 10 times its size and nearly touched the ceiling.

"Mother! We're spending Christmas at our house this year, not yours. You said you weren't going to help! You're supposed to leave everything to me." Ginny crossed her arms. "Remember last year when you did the same thing at George and Angelina's place? You redecorated their whole entire house! And the year before that, it was Bill and Fleur's house! You'll get your turn next year. "

"Oh alright, I'll leave everything alone. It's just …can I do one more thing?"

"Mother!"

"The tree looks a tad bit bare!"

"No."

"Fine," Molly sighed.

Once Ginny went back into the kitchen, Molly fiddled with her wand and zapped some ornaments onto the tree. She also added a golden star that twinkled at the top. "That's better," she said proudly.

**~.~.~.~.~**

_Ding Dong!_

Lily and Albus raced up to the door and opened it.

"Rose!" Lily hugged her cousin and jumped around like a hyper kangaroo.

"Hey Rose," Albus smiled but it quickly disappeared when he saw a blond haired boy appear from behind her. "…and Scorpius," he muttered.

Soon the Potter house was filled with people. There was George and his family, Bill's family, Teddy Lupin and his grandmother, Charlie, Percy's family, Luna's family, the Longbottoms and many more. There were so many of them that Ginny had to use a spell to expand the dining room, and of course added more chairs and a longer table.

Albus took a seat next to Selesta. She looked a little sleepy and kept on rubbing her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Albus asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I just feel …" she yawned. "Tired."

"Maybe it was because I woke you up so early this morning," said Albus feeling a bit guilty. "Sorry about that."

"You did?"

"Yeah, don't you remember? We went outsid—"

"No, I'm pretty sure I just woke up a couple of minutes ago... and my back is aching. It feels like I've been cramped up in a small box or something while I was sleeping. I woke up on my bed though. Maybe I was just dreaming." Selesta scratched her head in wonder.

"Do you remember me asking you to go with me to the dance?"

"No, but sure I'll go with you. No one's asked me yet anyway. At least we can go as friends."

"Right…friends," Albus forced a weak smile.

**~.~.~.~.~**

"Alright everyone settle down!" said Ginny. "Dinner is served." With the snap of her fingers, many bowls and plates filled with food appeared onto the table.

Hugo's eyes grew big as saucers as he hungrily reached into a bowl for some loose corn …using his hands!

"Hugo!" Hermione took hold of her son's arm. "Manners! Use a serving spoon, not your hands. I swear you've inherited your eating habits from your father!"

"Well don't look at me!" Ron raised his pinky finger up as he stuffed his face with some spaghetti and slurped noisily.

"Yes Ronald, of course he didn't get these habits from you. I guess he must've gotten them from me then?" Hermione said not amused.

"That's right, love!" Ron waved his half-eaten chicken thigh in her face.

After having a plateful of lasagna, potato salad, 2 slices of pumpkin pie and an ice-cream sundae, Albus felt like his stomach was going to burst open. He looked around the table and noticed everyone was feeling the same way, except for 2 people- Hugo and Ron Weasley. They were still munching away on some treacle tart and plum pudding even though they had already eaten 3 times as much as Albus.

"Where do they keep it all?" Scorpius whispered to Rose who covered her mouth to keep from giggling.

"It's a special talent," Ron snapped. "I've won 13 Muggle eating contests and I still manage to look this great. All thanks to my miraculous metabolism." He wiped off some whipped cream from his face. "So you're Scorpius."

"Yes sir," Scorpius nodded.

"Your face reminds me so much of your father, Draco. When we went to Hogwarts together he was the biggest jer—"

Hermione kicked Ron under the table before he could say anything else.

"Er…he was wonderful!" Ron squeaked. "Really I loved the guy!"

**~.~.~.~.~**

After dinner, everyone gathered around the fireplace in the living room and began singing Christmas carols. James however, thought it would be funny to play_ Jingle Bells _using his armpits, which created really disturbing farting noises. He had finally stopped when Delilah told him how immature he was acting.

When it was finally time to exchange Christmas presents, the sound of wrapping paper being ripped apart filled the air.

"Oh my God," Ron gasped. "It's a _Never-Ending Chocolate Pudding Cup_! You can eat for days- months- YEARS and it will keep on refilling itself. Hermione you know me so well! This is why I married you." Ron hugged his wife and kissed her on the cheek. "I love you so much."

"I love you too Ronald," Hermione blushed.

"Everyone! I have an announcement to make," a man with hair that quickly flickered into many different colours spoke. It was Teddy Lupin. He held hands with a beautiful, fair-skinned woman with long wavy blond hair that reached past her elbows. "I've asked Victoire to marry me ...and she said YES!"

Everyone cheered and clapped excitedly, especially Lily. She came running up to him and said, "Oh I knew it! It was about time you asked her. Now you'll be officially part of our family!" Lily hugged the newly engaged couple.

While everyone celebrated the big news, Albus asked Selesta to meet him by the side of the room where it was a lot quieter . "Hey, so um... I got you this." Albus handed Selesta a cylinder shaped package covered in silver wrapping paper. She quickly ripped it open and found a poster inside. As she unrolled it, she laughed. "I got you the same thing!"

Selesta handed Albus his present. It was a moving poster of the Quidditch Seeker for Ireland, Anneliese Marcello reaching for the Golden Snitch.

"I knew she was your favourite-" They both said at the same time and bursted out laughing when they realized what they had done.

Selesta looked up and smiled, "Look ..."

Albus lifted his chin and saw something dangling over them.

"Mistletoe," said Selesta.

Albus found himself leaning towards her. He panicked at the last minute and ended up giving her a peck on the cheek when he heard his father's voice.

Harry came running into the room with a panicked look on his face. "We've been robbed."

"What?" said Ginny.

"The bookcases that are under lock and key have been shattered open. There is broken glass everywhere and I've noticed some books have gone missing. One of the books was the novel that lovely Muggle lady _**Joanne**_ wrote about my life. It was the one about the Deathly Hallows. They also took the book about the Peverell Brothers' history and also one about the Resurrection Stone. I don't know what the others were though."

"Oh my goodness," Ginny said worriedly. "Who do you think did it?"

"I don't know. But whoever it was dropped this." Harry pulled out something gold and shiny from his pocket. It was the snake bracelet that belonged to Selesta.

"Does anyone recognize this?" Harry passed it around.

Many people shook their heads.

"Albus," said Harry.

"Huh?" he replied off guard.

"Do you know who this belongs to?"

"Um..." Albus gulped. He took a quick peek at Selesta from the corner of his eye and saw she was biting her lip nervously. "No."

"Okay son, I guess I'll just hold on to this in the mean time." Harry put the bracelet back into his pocket. "We might get more clues from it."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 – The Dance**

During the train ride back to Hogwarts, Albus couldn't look at Selesta the same.

_She's a thief! _Horrible and judgmental thoughts filled his mind. _But she's your friend!_

Selesta and Albus were the only people sitting in their compartment. Rose had gone off to sit with Scorpius somewhere, Lily was with Hugo and Alice, James was probably with Delilah and Veronica was with her other Slytherin friends. It was extremely quiet until Albus could no longer take it anymore.

"Why did you do it? Why did you steal those books? You could've just asked to borrow them," said Albus.

"What? Albus I would never! I could not live with myself if I ever stole anything. It wasn't me," said Selesta. "How can you even accuse me of that?"

"Oh I don't know… we found your bracelet lying around!"

"Al, I didn't do it! Don't you believe me?"

"I don't know what to believe right now." Albus crossed his arms and faced the window.

Selesta took her things and tried her hardest to not cry in front of him. She could not stand how he wouldn't believe her! Her own best friend thought she was a lying thief! Selesta slammed the compartment door behind her and went to look for another one. She would gladly be anywhere else as long as it was far away from Albus.

For the next few days, Selesta and Albus avoided each other as much as possible. And that was pretty hard since they had almost all of the same classes together. They wouldn't talk or even have any eye contact. Albus was also struggling in Potions since he refused to ask Selesta for any help. And Selesta started hanging out with fellow Slytherin Patty Parkinson and Kourtney Pettigrew from Gryffindor.

"So how are you and Selesta?" Rose asked Albus during lunch one day.

"Still not talking," he replied.

"I thought you liked her," said Rose. "And by that I meant more than friends."

"I do… but it's complicated," Albus sighed. "That was her bracelet my father found. She stole those books. She was even obsessing over the Deathly Hallows!"

"I don't know Al. It doesn't sound like something Lesta would do. And I believe in the saying, 'Innocent until proven guilty.' Plus, maybe she just dropped her bracelet earlier that day and someone else stole those books."

"I hope so," said Albus.

During Potions, Selesta finally spoke to Albus. "Um, can we talk?"

"Uh…okay," said Albus.

"Listen, I know you wanted to go as_ friends_ to the dance, but we hardly even talk anymore."

"Yeah I know. I want to apol—"

"And Nicholas Fledge from Ravenclaw asked me, so do you mind?"

"No, I guess not." Albus muttered.

"Okay thanks …I guess. Bye."

**~.~.~.~.~**

"What do I do Rose? I'm losing her— as a friend I mean." Albus said as they headed for Arithmancy class. "I tried apologizing but then she told me she's going to the dance with that tall, buff guy _Nicholas Fledge_. She hates me."

"Now I'm not that Muggle Dr. Phil, but I'm sure she doesn't hate you." Rose replied. "I shouldn't be telling you this but she …never mind."

"Well then she's giving me mixed signs! During the holidays we almost kissed, and then the next day she told me she wanted to go to the dance as 'friends' and then we stop speaking for a while and BAM! Now she's going out with some other guy to the dance. Girls are confusing," Albus babbled.

"Hey guys!" Veronica called after them.

"Hi Ronnie," said Albus. "So who are you going to the dance with?"

"Oh, I've been so busy with getting the votes for the dance theme that I completely forgot about that!" said Veronica. "And no one asked me anyways."

"I vote for the Robot theme!" Rose started dancing like a robot.

"I'm dateless too. Do you just want to go together?" asked Albus.

"Sure!" smiled Veronica. "By the way Rose, so far most of the students have been voting for the Rockstar theme and the Royal Ball theme. Robot and Disco are tied for last place."

"Aw, fiddlesticks!" Rose groaned. "Me and Professor McGonagall will not be happy about this!"

In the end, the Royal Ball theme won and Rose was left crying in a corner sadly doing the robot dance alone. Professor McGonagall was also a little bummed out about the Disco theme not winning, but there was a rumor going around that she was planning to wear an afro to the dance anyway.

When the day finally came, Albus wore a brand new black silk robe from the wizarding clothing shop, Twilfit and Tattings. He didn't really know what to do with his hair so he just shook it back and forth and brushed it with a comb.

Albus then headed down to the Great Hall. Drapes that were the colour of all 4 houses were hung around the glistening gold walls. By the front of the room where the teachers usually sat, was a magnificent castle made of diamonds. Attached to the castle was a glass stage where a band called _Witch Direction_ was performing. Albus recognized them for he had seen posters of the band all over Lily's room. There was a singer with curly hair that Albus believed was named Hurley Stiles, a blond guitarist who was Neal Huron, a very good looking man Zane Mulyk was dancing with a smiley guy named Louie Thompson and another singer who was usually compared to Michael Bublé, Lio Paine was making all the girls swoon.

Albus looked around the room and saw Rose and Scorpius slow dancing, Hugo holding hands with Alice Longbottom as they stood by the table filled with food, and the usual James and Delilah who couldn't keep their eyes off of each other. He also saw Lysander and Lorcan fighting over his own sister, Lily.

"I asked her to the dance and she said YES!"shouted Lorcan as he took Lily's arm.

"NO! She said yes to me!" Lysander took Lily's other arm.

"Boys! I'm so sorry. I knew there was something strange going on when I thought one of you asked me to the dance_ twice_! It's so hard to tell you guys apart!" Lily put her hand on her forehead. "I totally forgot you were twins."

"Since you both said yes to us both, why don't we just all hang out together?" suggested Lysander.

"Okay, sure!" smiled Lily as both boys linked their arms with hers.

Albus looked elsewhere and saw Professor McGonagall spinning Professor Flitwick around as they danced laughing. Indeed the rumors were true, she was wearing an afro. Horace Slughorn was leading Pomona Sprout onto the dance floor, and Professor Trelawney was enjoying herself as she danced with Hagrid. Just behind his kooky teacher and his father's old friend, Albus saw Veronica. She had worn a sparkling peach dress with glass slippers, a tiara and her usually messy curls were tied up in a neat bun.

"Al!" she ran up to him and took his hand. "Let's dance!"

Albus put one hand on her waist and the other held on to her hand. It was pretty awkward at first since it was a slow love ballad, but it quickly turned into an upbeat and fast paced song. They quickly let go of each other and started jumping up and down fist pumping.

"You look great!" shouted Albus.

"Thanks, you're looking quite spiffy yourself." Selesta winked.

From the corner of Albus's eye, he caught a glimpse of a stunning girl wearing a strapless dark purple dress that was made of soft satin fabric which fell effortlessly onto the floor. Her hair was kept in an easy updo with a simple peacock feather sticking out of her bun. She held onto the arm of tall, muscular boy Albus recognized. It was Nicholas Fledge …so that meant the girl on his arm was— Selesta.

"I'm going to go get some punch, okay?" said Albus. "You want some?"

"Sure. Oh, and can you get me a cupcake? The one with the black icing please, thanks!" Selesta was still super energetic on the dance floor even though she didn't have a partner at that moment.

Just when Albus was about to reach for a cupcake, a hand already snatched it away. Selesta stood right beside him stuffing her face with the small cake. She stared at Albus in shock and grabbed onto the collar of his robes.

"Albus you have to help me!" Selesta whispered worriedly.

"Huh?" said Albus confusedly.

"They're back!"

"Who's back?"

"The Death Eaters," she cringed.

"That's impossible," Albus shook his head. "Voldemort is dead."

"Lately I've been feeling sleepy and I keep forgetting about things I have done. Well I think either someone is messing with me or someone is controlling me. I can't explain it. There's just a voice in my head and—"

Just then, Veronica flashed a smile at Selesta.

"It's her! She's the leader of the Death Eaters," said Selesta.

"What? Veronica…no she can't be."

"B-but I saw them! In the forest …"

"What are you talking about?" asked Albus.

All of a sudden Nicholas Fledge took a hold of Selesta's wrist and said, "Hey let's dance!"

Only they didn't head for the dance floor. Instead Nicholas dragged her through the doors that led out of the Great Hall when none of the teachers were looking.

"Let me go!" Selesta cried.

Albus looked around the dance floor and realized that his own date, Veronica, was nowhere to be found.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 – The Riddle**

"Rose!" Albus pulled her out of Scorpius's arms. "Have you seen Veronica?"

"Huh? No," she said dreamily as she stared at Scorpius.

"Come on we have to find her!" Albus tugged on her arm but she wouldn't budge.

"I'm sure she's just in the bathroom or something," said Rose carelessly.

"Selesta might be in danger! She said the Death Eaters were back and that Veronica has something to do with it." Albus said quickly.

"But the Death Eaters have fallen ever since Voldemort died," said Rose.

"I don't know if it's true but I did see Nicholas drag Selesta out of here and she didn't want to go with him."

"Oh my gosh, do you know where he could've taken her?" she asked.

"I don't know, but she mentioned something about the Death Eaters meeting in the forest."

"The Forbidden Forest? Oh dear. Okay, let's go!" Rose followed Albus towards the doors that led to the outside of the Great Hall.

"Wait, I'm coming with you!" Scorpius took Rose's hand.

"NO." Albus said through gritted teeth.

"I'm not going if Scorpius doesn't come," said Rose.

"Fine," Albus sighed.

The three of them were about to head out the door when a wrinkled hand blocked their path. It was Professor McGonagall.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"Um, we were just going for a little walk outside," said Albus.

"Now you know very well Mr. Potter that you cannot leave the school grounds this late at night. So it's either you stay here at the dance and enjoy yourself or you can go to bed. And don't even try to sneak out. I knew your father." McGonagall patted her afro. "I've got eyes all over these halls watching so don't even think about it."

They walked back into the Great Hall in disappointment.

"What now?" Rose asked.

"I've got an idea," Albus grinned.

**~.~.~.~.~**

"James!" called Albus.

"What little brother? Can't you see I'm kind of in the middle of something here?" said James annoyed as he did the Tango with Delilah.

"I know you have it," whispered Albus.

"What?"

"The cloak."

"Huh? How did you—"

"Oh please. It's pretty obvious that you're the one who's always taking it from dad's closet when you're grounded so you can sneak out and see Delilah. Or when you're pulling pranks, I'm not a dim-wit. I remember that one night when a bunch of spoons were attacking me, and I was sure it wasn't just some ghost. Who else would know that I have a slight fear of spoons? And who would be so malicious to even try to traumatize me? You. Lily is not the prankster type and even if she did pull one off, she'd feel really guilty and apologize. And mom and dad would never do such a thing. So do you have it? I need it to sneak out into the forest," ranted Albus.

James stopped dancing and pulled Albus aside to a corner.

"Doing a little sneaking, eh? I'm proud of you!" James patted Albus on the back. "Well, you're just in luck! I have it in my robe right now. I shrunk it so it would fit," James handed him a small sheet of invisible fabric the size of a handkerchief. "Don't ask why I kept it with me. It's just for…emergencies."

Albus ran up to Rose and Scorpius and showed them the cloak.

"That's it? That's your idea, to make your hand invisible? The cloak is so tiny!" said Rose.

_"Engorgio!" _Albus pointed his wand at the cloak when the teachers weren't looking.

"That's better, but all 3 of us still won't be able to fit under that thing," said Scorpius.

Rose's eyes lit up as she dragged the boys under the table and hid behind the table cloth. She then pointed her wand on them and said, "_Reducio!"_

Both Albus and Scorpius shrunk half their usual size. When they stood up, their heads wouldn't even reach the table that was over them. Rose then did the spell on herself and she put the cloak over the three of them.

When they walked up to the door again, they saw that this time Professor Binns was guarding it. He was telling a few students off and said, "Nuh-uh-uh. No one is allowed to leave. It's either you get to bed early or you stay here and enjoy the dance. Professor McGonagall's orders."

The students were disappointed but obeyed and went back to the dance. Pretty soon, Professor Binns yawned and his eyes flickered shut.

Albus, Rose and Scorpius carefully turned the knob of the door and quietly stepped out. Once they heard Binns shout, "Huh? WHO'S THERE?" The three of them quickly dashed out as far away from the Great Hall as possible.

Once they got outside of the castle and passed Hagrid's hut, they took off the cloak and returned to their normal size.

Rose looked at Albus nervously. "S-s-so are you sure she's in the forest?"

"Well she mentioned that that was where she saw the new Death Eaters," replied Albus.

"Okay," Rose gulped as the three of them stepped into the Forbidden Forest.

"It's really dark, I can't see a thing." Scorpius pulled out his wand and said, "Lumos!"

As they stepped deeper and deeper into the forest, the moon became smaller with each move they made. The trees were getting so thick that soon, all they could see was a speck of moonlight and small patches of the night sky through the branches. Even though all their wands were lit, they still had trouble seeing what was in front of them and they tripped on a few tree roots and stumbled on some rocks. They also heard ominous chirping from birds they could not see and become more and more creeped out.

"Albus, do you think they're really back?" asked Rose. "The Death Eaters I mean."

"I hope not, but Selesta claims that Veronica is their new leader." Albus replied.

"Veronica Elddir? But she's a prefect! She even told me once that she was planning on becoming Head Girl next year. She would never! It's so not like her," said Rose.

Albus shrugged, "I honestly don't know. But for now let's just focus on finding Selesta and that creep Nicholas Fledge."

Rose scrunched up her face. It was what she would do whenever she was thinking or concentrating. Imagine her during exams. Everyone was afraid to sit anyone near her since she looked like she was about to rip someone's head off if she got one question wrong.

"Wait a minute Albus," Rose froze. "Veronica … Elddir. E-L-D-D-I-R. That's 'Riddle' backwards. And Voldemort's real name is …"

"Tom Marvolo Riddle," Albus finished her sentence.

"We all know that! Mum's told Hugo and I loads of times," said Rose.

"Could she be a descendant of Voldemort's?" wondered Scorpius.

"It's a possibility," replied Rose. "Well they both have the power-hungry trait; I mean remember when she couldn't stop talking about that Elder Wand? And she was also gushing about Voldemort like he was the greatest thing ever!"

"Do you think she was the one that stole those books? I hadn't seen Veronica in her room that day," said Albus. "And the day before that, when she refused to join in the snowball fight, my father mentioned something about how his and mum's room looked rather messy. It was almost as if someone had searched their bedroom."

"Maybe she thought you had the Deathly Hallows …" whispered Rose.

"I should never have doubted Selesta," said Albus. "She was telling the truth!"

"That's right," a cold, ravenous voice sneered.

"Veronica!" Albus's voice echoed throughout the Forbidden Forest.

Rose held on to Scorpius's arm nervously.

"We know who you really are!" Albus said. "You're related to Tom Marvolo Riddle."

Albus thought he saw a shadow from the corner of his eye which quickly zoomed all around them randomly. He then heard the cold voice shriek, "DON'T CALL HIM THAT! You do not refer to the Dark Lord by that name. The same one that was given to him after his stupid Muggle father."

"So you know that I am a descendant of the greatest wizard of all time?" The voice calmed down.

Rose couldn't help but laugh, "Voldemort? The greatest wizard? Oh please! Harry Potter is currently the greatest wizard of all time. Not to mention, he's still _living._"

"Not for long," a dark figure stepped forward under the moonlight. It was Veronica and in her hands was the Elder Wand. "Soon the whole Potter family will go extinct. But I'll make an exception for you Albus. Join me and together we will rise and become the most powerful wizard couple."

"Me? Join you and betray my family?" Albus barked into laughter. "Never."

"Such a shame. I really liked you Albus, I really did. But now I guess you can join your little girlfriend and hold hands while you die." Veronica grinned.

"Selesta? Where is she? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?" Albus cried.

Veronica laughed in delight. "Probably being beaten to death by now. She might have said some rude things to the centaurs."

"You put her under the Imperius curse!" Albus accused.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," Veronica shrugged. "Remember that time when you had a little chat with Selesta outside in the snow? That wasn't Selesta."

"That was you?" Albus said disgusted. "We almost— ugh, _kissed_. I'm guessing you used the Polyjuice Potion."

Veronica nodded. "And that thumping in the closet was your girlfriend under a Full Body-Bind Curse. She must've tipped over. I needed her body to get the information I wanted from you."

"Why are you doing this to her? She has never done anything to you!" Rose cried.

"Silly Rosie, does Snape ring a bell?" Veronica spun her wand around playfully in her fingers.

"Snape? She's related to him, so what?" Rose put her hands on her hips.

"So what? I thought you were smarter than that Rosie. Smarty Rosie is that what your mummy calls you?" taunted Veronica.

"Is it revenge for when Snape double-crossed Voldemort?" Scorpius asked.

"DING! DING! DING! Yes, the Malfoy boy gets it!" Veronica clapped her hands excitedly. "You should join me Scorpius. I'm recruiting new Death Eaters. You might recognize some familiar faces."

Just then, 6 dark figures in black hooded cloaks descended behind Veronica. Scorpius's jaw dropped. He recognized 2 of them. It was his best friends— Milo and Cunis. There were also 2 girls that stood beside them, Patty and Kourtney. The girls Selesta had befriended. On the other side of where Veronica stood, was Ralph Thomas, the boy that Albus hardly ever heard talk. And beside Ralph was a tall, muscular boy with a face that rivaled a bulldog's— Nicholas Fledge.

"Milo? Cunis?" mumbled Scorpius.

"Why am I not surprised?" coughed Albus. Rose kicked him in the shin.

"No," Scorpius took Rose's hand. "I won't join you!"

"I see you've chosen your side," Veronica nodded.

"Why are you so obsessed with continuing what Voldemort started?" asked Albus.

"Ugh, I have to explain everything to you three dimwits." Veronica rolled her eyes. "Okay, so here's a big shocker guys. Voldemort is my grandfather."

"Er …I didn't know he um … mated," said Rose. "He wasn't the loving type. All he cared about was power."

"Put a sock in it! So anyways …" continued Veronica.

"Hey! Don't talk to my girlfriend like that!" shouted Scorpius.

Rose gasped, "Really?"

"Yeah really," he smiled.

"CRUUUUUCIOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Veronica as she pointed her wand at Scorpius.

Scorpius yelled from the top of his lungs in agony as he fell to the ground twitching.

"Scorpius!" Rose quickly fell down beside him.

Veronica smiled happily. "So as I was saying, Voldemort is my grandfather and Bellatrix is my grandmother. They had a son together – my father, but they disowned him since he was a useless Squib! They pretended like he didn't even exist and he was adopted by some stupid Muggles that raised him like their own. He then married a Muggle woman and they had me. All my life I was raised like a Muggle until I realized I had powers. That was when my father told me who I really was and that I wasn't just some ordinary person. Ever since I've been going to Hogwarts, I've been learning more and more about Voldemort and all of the great things he has done. I even started teaching myself Dark Magic. When my parents found out, they went ballistic and said I couldn't go to Hogwarts anymore. So I killed them. My Muggle grandparents also got in the way so I killed them too."

"So all that crying …was just an act? You didn't even have Muggle grandparents when I invited you to my home!" said Albus.

"Yes Al, they've been long dead for almost 2 years now," she grinned. "And now I'm here to bring back the Dark Lord."

"But he's dead," said Rose.

"I know idiot. That's why I'm looking for the Deathly Hallows!" snapped Veronica. "I was hoping to find the wand at your house but I didn't find it. So I took those books about your father instead. I then learned where the Elder Wand was and stole it from Dumbledore's tomb. How stupid of him to think no one would ever find it. And now I'll use it to find the Resurrection Stone."

Rose found herself blurting out, "But you can't just—"

"ACCIO RESURRECTION STONE!" commanded Veronica.

Nothing.

The stone didn't reveal itself, nor did it fall into Veronica's greedy hands.

"WHY ISN'T IT WORKING?" she growled.

"Powerful magical objects are immune to Summoning Charms. It doesn't matter what kind of wand you have, even if you have the Elder Wand it won't work." Rose said matter-of-factly.

"REDUCTOOOOOO!" Veronica shouted angrily as she pointed her wand at Rose.

Luckily, Scorpius pushed her out of the way just in time as the spell blasted a nearby tree into pieces.

"Stupefy!" Albus aimed at Veronica who quickly fell to the ground.

The other Death Eaters automatically fired their wands at Albus as he helped Rose and Scorpius up.

"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!" Albus screamed.

Green light flashed all around them as they ran as far as their legs would take them. They didn't know exactly where they were going, as long as they were away from the Death Eaters.

"Stupefy!" Scorpius stunned Nicholas Fledge who came crashing down to the ground.

"S-S-SONORUS!" Rose pointed her wand at Ralph Thomas.

"What the…" Ralph's voice sounded like he was talking through a megaphone.

Albus and Scorpius covered their ears as Ralph babbled on loudly. They then stared at Rose in confusion.

"I panicked! I couldn't think of anything so I just said the first spell that came to mind," she explained.

"Immobulus!" Kourtney Pettigrew pointed her wand at Rose. Her whole body froze immediately as she tipped to the ground like a stiff log.

"Rose!" Scorpius tried picking her up but Patty stunned him before he got a chance.

Albus tripped over a tree root as he watched what had just happened. He had dropped his wand and desperately tried feeling the forest ground around him with his hands.

Unfortunately, all Albus could find were a bunch of pebbles and smooth round rocks. He felt them roll between his fingers until he touched one that didn't feel like the others. It was much more pointed and had almost cut through his palm.

Suddenly, Milo and Cunis got a hold of Albus's collar as they dragged him through the dirt.

"Veronica wants to have the pleasure of killing you herself," Cunis grinned.

"And don't worry, you'll be last," said Milo. "She wants you to watch your whole family die before your eyes."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 - Goners**

"Well done boys," Veronica's lip curled as Milo and Cunis brought Albus up to her. "Remind me to reward you later. Now, now Albus. Why the long face? And what's with the clenched fists? Is Al angry?"

Veronica walked towards him and caressed his face teasingly. Albus turned away in disgust. She then tried to hold his hand. Albus balled his fists up even tighter and felt the pointed rock nearly pierce his skin.

"Aw come on Al," Veronica managed to pry his fingers open. "Well, what do we have here?"

Veronica took the small stone and held it up to the moonlight as she studied it. "The Resurrection Stone? Thanks Albus."

He tried to get out of Milo and Cunis's arms to reach for the stone, but they just tightened their grip around his neck.

"So how does it work? Do I just tell it who I want to bring back?" asked Veronica.

"I'm not telling you anything!" snapped Albus.

"Imperio!" Veronica flicked her wand on him and yawned.

_ Tell her. _The voice once again spoke in Albus's mind. _Tell her how the stone works._

_NO!_ Albus thought to himself.

The voice vanished and Albus's mind was filled with silence.

"Tell me!" Veronica shrieked impatiently. "Imperio!"

Albus heard the voice again, but refused to listen. He simply ignored it and focused on his own thoughts.

"CRUUUUCIO!" Veronica screamed.

Albus fell down to his knees as he felt a burning sensation lick his entire body.

"Tell me how to use the stone," she commanded.

"NO!" Albus managed to say as he continued to scream in pain.

"Help me you doofuses!" Veronica ordered Milo and Cunis.

All three of them then pointed their wands aiming at Albus and said, "CRUCIO!"

It felt a million times worse like Albus was being roasted to death in a fire pit— in Hell. Like he was being stabbed over and over again with thousands of acidic swords. His face hurt, his hands hurt, his stomach hurt, his _entire_ body hurt. Albus desparately felt like ripping his skin off and rolling in an ocean of ice cold water. He started shaking violently and felt tears streaming down his face as he screamed his guts out.

"Had enough?" asked Veronica calmly. She and the others lifted their wands away from him.

"Don't do it Al …" Rose whimpered as Patty had her in a headlock and tugged at her fiery red hair.

Scorpius came following behind with Nicholas Fledge who held him upside down by his ankles using only one hand.

"Ralph!" Veronica called.

"YEAH?" Ralph's voice was amplified and probably heard throughout the entire forest.

"Call the centaurs," Veronica ordered.

"Well what do I call them? The centaurs might be insulted if I command them to come over here, they're very proud creatures you know and …" Ralph babbled on.

Suddenly, the sound of hooves being dragged through the forest floor became quite audible. Albus spotted the shadow of a horse-like creature with an upper body of a human.

Moments later, a group of centaurs appeared. They were all bare chested and had different shades of fur. A wild looking centaur with dark black hair and white circles around his eyes stood out from the crowd and caught Albus's attention the most. He didn't look friendly at all and had an angry look on his face. "What do you wand-folk want?" The centaur grumbled.

"Relax Bane, we're just here to see the girl," said Veronica calmy.

"You mean the rude one that questioned our intelligence?" Bane looked over at his fellow centaurs. Some of them backed away and revealed a young centaur with a limp body on it's back.

"Blaze get her off your back now! You are not a pack mule!" Bane snapped at the little centaur.

"But papa, she's really hurt …" Blaze whimpered.

"Put her down!" Bane stomped on the ground with his two front legs. Blaze did what he was told and carefully laid the body on a bed of leaves. Bane then turned to the pack and said, "Let's go. I don't want to be a part of this, whatever these wizards are planning on doing."

As soon as the centaurs left, Albus squinted his eyes and peered at the girl realizing it was Selesta. She was stiff as stone and was covered in deep purple bruises and fresh scratches. "SELESTA!" Albus fought his way out of Milo's iron grasp and ran up to her.

"Ah..ah..ah… not so fast Albus," Veronica stunned him with her wand before he could get any closer. "Now I'll ask you one more time, how does the stone work?"

Albus shook his head and tried crawling to Selesta's side desperately.

"CRUCIIIIIIIIIIIIIO!" Veronica aimed at Selesta. Albus heard her ear-shattering scream as she rolled on the ground and shook uncontrollably.

"S-s-stop…p-please stop!" Selesta said weakly.

"Turn the stone!" Albus finally gasped as he reached for Selesta's hand. "Turn it 3 times in your hand."

Veronica did what she was told. Soon her eyes widened as she fell to her knees and bowed, "Lord Voldemort."

But Albus couldn't see anyone in front of Veronica.

"It's an honour my Lord," Veronica kept on talking to herself. "Yes, yes I've got the Elder wand here. And I've rounded up some new Death Eaters. I also plan on killing the whole Potter family."

"Let's go," Albus whispered into Selesta's ear. He carefully tried to lift her off the ground silently, but she gasped as she put some weight on her left leg. Albus could see that it was heavily bruised, bloody and knew she wouldn't be able to run. Selesta's leg was broken and Albus couldn't help her since he had lost his wand somewhere in the forest.

"Where do you think you're going Al?" Veronica breathed icily on his neck.

Albus shuddered.

"Leaving so soon? But the fun hasn't even started yet," Veronica grinned. "Right my Lord?"

"Who are you talking to?" Albus asked confused.

"I'm talking to Lord Voldemort! He's standing right here!" Veronica pointed to something beside her.

But all Albus could see was well … nothing, pretty much.

"Can't you see him?" Veronica furrowed her eyebrows. "Or hear him?"

Albus shook his head.

"I don't understand…" Veronica attempted to reach for the invisible figure next to her. "I'm so sorry my Lord. I have failed to bring you back fully. But don't worry, I shall finish what you have started. Yes, yes I do. Of course."

Veronica turned to face Albus and smiled darkly. She nodded to her fellow Death Eaters as if commanding them to do something silently.

Nicholas took hold of Selesta and Albus as he dragged them with him. Ralph on the other hand had Scorpius under the Imperius curse and forced him to walk along with Rose.

"Where are you taking us?" Albus growled.

"You'll see," said Veronica. "Just drop them off there for now. They don't have their wands with them anyway."

Albus felt Nicholas's tight grip loosen as he pushed him into a deep and dark hole dug up from the forest floor. Scorpius came tumbling next, along with Rose and Selesta screaming their heads off. Selesta groaned in pain as she landed. She clumsily tried lifting herself up with her elbows but failed miserably.

"Hello?" A voice called. "Is anyone there?"

"P-P-Please I need to g-g-go home to my f-family. My wife and son are expecting me for Christmas." Another voice said. "I n-need to be home for Christmas."

"I have a son and daughter— Marcus and Elena." A third voice spoke.

"Mommy!" a high voice squeaked. "Where's my mommy?"

"What's going on? Where are we?" said Albus. "It's so dark and I dropped my wand when Milo and Cunis caught me."

"Don't worry!" Rose lifted up her dress revealing a thigh holder with a wand safely attached to it. "I always carry around a prop wand just in case … and I keep my real wand tucked in here."

"That's hot," said Scorpius all googly-eyed.

Albus quickly shot him a deadly stare.

"Well it's true!" Scorpius shrugged.

"Lumos!" Rose lit her wand.

The entire room brightened revealing dozens of blindfolded people with their arms and legs in rusty chains. Almost all of them were adults; there were a few teenagers and one little girl who sobbed for her mommy.

"Who are these people?" wondered Albus.

"My name is Rupert!"

"Candace! I'm Candace!"

"Sierra Floré! Dr. Sierra Floré!"

"Johnson. Justin Johnson!"

Many people shouted their names all at once but all Albus could hear was a rumble of loud voices.

"Please everybody, one at a time!" Selesta begged.

Rose walked up to a silver haired lady with dirt and grime all over her thin, sallow face. "You're Dr. Floré? A doctor? Huh, well we definitely don't have any of those at St. Mungo's Hospital. Are you a Muggle?"

"Muggle?" repeated Dr. Floré. "What's that?"

"Yup, definitely a Muggle," said Scorpius.

"W-W-Wait!" Selesta crawled up to the shaking little girl still crying. "I know you! Miranda Larx, but your mum calls you Randy."

The little girl unfolded her arms, lifted her head and nodded.

"And you're Justin Johnson! Your wife and kids are worried sick about you!" said Selesta.

"And that's Cheryl Doyle! Louis Toms! Albert Abbot! Oh your son was really upset you didn't come home for Christmas." Selesta untied everyone's blindfold one by one.

"Lesta, how do you know all of these people?" asked Albus.

"Al, don't you see? They're missing Muggles!" she exclaimed. "I saw them all at least once on the telly. Their names and faces were flashing all over the news. Most of them had not come home for Christmas. "

"T-They tortured us!" A shaking man revealed the blistered burns on his arms and face. "They wore hoods and had …"

"Sticks," another voice spoke. "Magical sticks that could really shoot out fire!"

"They killed Bob!" shrieked a woman. "They killed my husband!"

"They're sick! They really are sick whoever they are," whimpered Dr. Floré.

"They kill at least 6 of us every day. I don't how they do it, but some green light flashes and bam! Dead," said the shaking man. "We're all goners."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 - You & Me**

"We need to get everyone out of here and back to their families!" said Rose.

"Need a hand?" A familiar voice called from above their heads.

"James!" said Albus. "How did you get here?"

"You didn't think I'd let my baby brother go to the Forbidden Forest all by himself did you?"

"Hey! We were with him!" protested Scorpius.

"Yeah, and look where you guys ended up," James grinned. "Anyway, what would mum and dad say? Just another reason to ground me, that's what. Oh and you dropped this."

James held up the invisibility cloak.

"Used it to sneak up on you guys."

Albus and the others quickly unchained the Muggles as James helped lift them up safely from the pit.

"Lilah's not too happy with this by the way," said James. "Sneaking out to the forest, I mean. But she said she would keep an eye on her sister Alice along with Hugo and Lily."

Once all the Muggles were finally out of the pit, James held out his hand for Albus and pulled him up.

Scorpius was next along with Rose who climbed up his shoulders and grabbed onto Albus's hands.

Everyone finally sighed in relief to have escaped the dark, filthy hole except for one person... Selesta. She was still on her knees as she put all of her weight on her arms. She tried desperately to stand up but only wild screams escaped through her lips.

"We should have lifted her up first!" Albus shook his head. "I'm going back down!"

Suddenly, a ring of fire started to form around the pit as it prevented Albus from going through.

"Not so fast _hero_," Veronica threateningly pointed her wand at him.

"LET HER GO!" screamed Albus.

Veronica couldn't help but laugh hysterically, "But I'm having too much fun."

"Hurt me instead," he begged. "Not her, please not her."

Veronica drummed her fingers on the Elder Wand.

Albus could hear Selesta's wheezes and gasps over the fire.

"_You and me_ ... just us," Albus eyed Veronica.

She seemed quite intrigued and nodded once, "Fine. If you want to die earlier so be it."

"Everyone get away from here! Leave and return the Muggles back to their families." Albus directed James, Rose and Scorpius. "And make sure you erase their memories. They definitely don't want to remember any of this."

"Al, I'm staying," Rose stood still.

"No you're not! Go!"

"Alright but here ... I think you're going to need this!" Rose threw her wand at him which he caught in his now sweaty palms.

Scorpius held hands with Rose as they led the Muggles out of the Forbidden Forest.

"James what are you still doing here?" Albus stared at him blankly.

"You can't fight this battle on your own brother," his face was serious. "I'm not leaving."

Veronica stunned him out of the blue as he was knocked out cold.

She then locked eyes with Albus, "Now we can settle this..."

"Stupefy!" he yelled.

"Crucio!"

"Expelliarmus!"

"Sectumsepra!"

"Conjunctivis!"

White light shot out of Albus's wand while red light sparked from Veronica's. The two streaks collided and met in the middle as both Albus and Veronica struggled with overpowering the other.

Veronica grew tired of the endless game of casting childish spells at each other. Her eyes focused on Albus intensely and she licked her lips with bloodlust.

"AVADA KE-"

"Albus!" James tossed him a handheld mirror from the inside pocket of his dress robe.

Albus quickly shielded himself from the area that had suddenly flashed a streak of green light which nearly struck him.

"-DAVRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The light immediately hit the mirror and bounced back reflecting on Veronica instead. Albus had expected her to blow up into a million pieces of crusty skin flakes and float into the air dramatically, but she had cast the shielding charm just in time.

"So close," sighed James. "Guess being vain has it's perks."

"Impedimenta!" Albus accurately pointed his wand at Veronica.

She tried moving her lips but struggled with conjuring a spell for she had become slow as a sloth.

"Hooow ddaare yooou," she glared.

"You'll never touch my family. Do you hear me? You'll never hurt any of the people I love any longer." Albus drew his wand and said very clearly, "_Obliviate!_"

The spell struck Veronica right in the forehead. She blinked repeatedly and darted her head every once in a while like a buzzing bee.

"Where am I?" her eyes widened. "Who are you? Why am I here? And why do I have this stick of wood in my hand?"

"Veronica do you not know what that is?" asked Albus curiously.

"Veronica? Is that my name? Cool."

Suddenly, she let out an alarming shriek.

"Who are you?" she pointed in the air.

"Huh?" both James and Albus stared at each other in confusion.

"That thing! That thing without a nose! Get it away!"

James and Albus burst out into laughter.

"That's just Voldy, don't mind him. He's actually quite comforting," James smirked. "He gives the best hugs."

"Oh okay, but he just called me an idiot." Veronica waved her fist at the invisible figure. "Hey baldy... or Voldy! I'm not an idiot!"

"I might have erased too many memories," said Albus sheepishly. "I think someone needs to go see Madame Pomfrey or perhaps St. Mungo's Hospital."

"I suggest Azkaban," said James.

"What's that?" asked Veronica.

"Oh a magical place with ponies, rainbows and smiles. You'll love it there!" he replied.

Just before James led Veronica out of the forest, he reached for the abandoned Elder Wand on the floor.

"We need to destroy that thing," said Albus.

"B-but can't I keep it instead?" James smiled hopefully.

"No!" Albus snatched it from his hands and snapped it in two.

"You could've at least let me taken a picture with it!" James said glumly.

Albus rolled his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, but felt like he was forgetting something for some reason. Something important.

"_Selesta!_" he gasped.

Albus could no longer hear her violent coughs and heavy breathing.

He ran up to the pit surrounded by fire and screamed, "Aqua Eructo!"

A jet of icy, blue water blasted from his wand and put out the flames leaving nothing but wisps of smoke. He then climbed into the hole and found Selesta curled up into a ball, unconscious.

"Lesta!" he shook her. "Lesta, I'm so sorry I came too late."

He cradled her lifeless body in his arms and buried his face in her dark hair. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you when you were honest with me the whole time. I should have trusted you."

Albus felt warm tears starting to form in his eyes as he tried his hardest to fight them back. "And I'm sorry that I never got a chance to tell you how I really feel about you. I know you probably can't hear me ... but I'll say it anyway. I like you. I really like you ...a lot."

He gave her a soft peck on the cheek, "I'm sorry for everything."

Out of nowhere, a fist struck Albus in the chin.

It was Selesta who was now wide awake, "Damn right you should be sorry."

Suddenly she tugged at the collar of his shirt and pulled his face towards hers as she kissed him on the lips.

"I like you too," she grinned.

"Well, well, well what do we have here?" James called from above their heads. "Make-out session in a pit? Reminds me of my first kiss. You go little brother!"

"Go away James!" both Selesta and Albus yelled and started throwing pebbles at him.

"Alright, alright! I'll leave you two lovebirds alone," he winked.


End file.
